Kaptur: $3.1 Million Grant to put First Responders Back on the Job at Lorain Fire
July 13, 2016
“A Two Year Solution to an Immediate Problem”
Washington, DC — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) today announced that the Lorain Fire Department and the City of Lorain will receive a total of $3,181,140 in federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to address its immediate staffing crisis resulting from the recent lay-offs of 22 members of the Lorain fire department. The funds are from FEMA’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program. Kaptur is a member the House Fire Caucus and a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds FEMA operations.
“This is obviously great news,” Kaptur said. “Credit should go to the Lorain firefighters, who have actively organized in recent weeks and made their case effectively and persuasively, and to Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer and Lorain Fire Chief Tom Brown. Their diligence in helping to find a solution brought about this two-year solution to an immediate problem.”
In recent weeks Congresswoman Kaptur has worked with Lorain Mayor Chase Ritenauer and Lorain Fire Chief Tom Brown to secure federal funds to resolve Lorain’s immediate needs. Kaptur emphasized that this is a temporary two-year grant, and does not resolve the staffing matter beyond 2018.
Mark Sanders, President of the Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters. added "This SAFER Grant will help the city of Lorain put fire fighters back in the firehouses to keep the community safe. SAFER Grants such as this have been instrumental in helping Ohio cities deal with the drastic cuts to local government funding from the state. Our special thanks go to Congresswoman Kaptur for working on Lorain’s behalf to fill this critical gap in funding and to get our Fire Fighters back on the job keeping Lorain safe.”
Background:
- SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments’ increase their cadre of frontline firefighters or to rehire firefighters that have been laid off, and to recruit and/or retain volunteer firefighters. The goal of the SAFER Grant Program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies and to ensure communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. With enhanced or restored staffing levels, grantees should see a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene.
- Eligible applicants for SAFER included volunteer and combination fire departments, career fire departments, and municipalities and fire districts. Volunteer and combination fire departments may apply for “Hiring of Firefighters” or “Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters” category. Career fire departments may only apply for funding in the “Hiring of Firefighters” category. Municipalities and fire districts may submit applications on behalf of fire departments lacking the legal status to do so, such as those under the auspices of the municipality or district. Organizations representing the interests of volunteer firefighters and individual fire departments (volunteer or combination) may apply for funding for regional projects.
- SAFER grants are comprised of two primary categories, “Hiring of Firefighters” (hiring new or rehiring laid-off firefighters) and “Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters”. The highest priority under the “Hiring of Firefighters” category will be afforded to applications that are seeking to rehire firefighters who have been laid off. The primary focus for the “Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters” is the recruitment and/or retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with, or trained in, the operations of firefighting and emergency response.