November 29, 2013 at 1:00 am
$24.2M federal grant to hire 150 Detroit firefighters a 'godsend'
Tony Briscoe
The Detroit News
212 Comments
Detroit ? O?Dell Tate has volunteered for the city?s Angels? Night patrols for more than a decade and has watched as firefighters battle blazes that strain resources and put neighborhoods on edge.
Now, with a $24.2 million federal grant ? the largest ever awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to a fire department ? and two savvy grant writers, the city stands to hire 150 new firefighters.
?It couldn?t come at a better time,? Tate said. ?We have wonderful firefighters here, but for a city Detroit?s size, to increase our numbers would be a great asset.?
After losing out on millions in federal grants for years, the Fire Department turned to the Detroit Public Safety Foundation, a nonprofit foundation founded in 2011 to boost Detroit?s waning public safety resources.
?The Fire Department is an area that has so many needs and they didn?t have anybody that has focused on writing grants ... ,? Catherine Govan, executive director of the foundation. ?It just makes us feel that we?re doing what we need to do to help the city.?
Govan said the nonprofit dedicated two grant writers to look for any grant ?we could possibly get.?
The grant will fund new firefighters? salaries and benefits for two years.
The Fire Department had never secured a grant from FEMA?s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Program, or SAFER, until 2011, when the foundation stepped in. Since then, the Fire Department captured a $22.5 million award in 2012, the largest SAFER grant awarded up to that point, that kept 108 firefighters from layoffs. In October of that year, the city laid off 26 firefighters, but they returned a month later under another SAFER grant of $5.6 million.
The latest grant is a ?godsend,? said Executive Fire Commissioner Don Austin, who credited the foundation with securing the grants that will boost staffing.
?This is wonderful news for the city of Detroit and for our firefighters,? Austin said. ?The average age of our firefighters is 45, so we need some new blood and this is really going to support that effort.?
The SAFER grant comes amid an effort by the Obama administration to invest in Detroit's economic recovery and enhance quality of life for residents. In September, the administration announced in Detroit that it would unlock $300 million in new and repurposed grants.
The Fire Department has 781 firefighters, down hundreds due to retirements, said Austin. The city has about 11,000 to 12,000 fires annually ? with 60 percent in blighted or unoccupied buildings.
Last month, the Fire Department began its search to fill 90 firefighter positions, funded by city monies. There were more than 2,400 applicants, which Austin said he expects to tap to fill those openings and the 150 new positions.
Applicants will take written, physical and oral examinations.
Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association union, said the grant is another step toward building a ?younger, healthier, stronger Fire Department.?
?We are very thankful this Thanksgiving,? McNamara said. ?This is certainly a move in the right direction and it gives us hope we can build a good base and move forward.?
U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, who announced the award Wednesday, said the grant will better protect Detroiters.
?This is another major investment in the city of Detroit that will go a long way in helping the Fire Department hire additional firefighters to protect the public,? Stabenow, D-Lansing, said in a statement. ?Making sure our first responders have the resources they need is exactly the kind of support that will help Detroit?s continued revitalization.?
Levin, D-Detroit, added: ?There is no more important task (than) caring for our people in times of emergency.?
There?s no obligation to retain the grant-funded firefighters after the two-year period, but Austin said he hopes Detroit?s finances will be strong enough to support the newest hires. ?By then, the city should be in a healthier position to maintain the basic level required to perform services,? Austin said.
tbriscoe@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2541
From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131129/METRO01/311290027#ixzz2mQdnG8a0