Hunter
03/29/23
Fire departments in Tiffin and North Liberty have benefitted from recent SAFER grants.
SAFER, which is the acronym for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, was created on the federal level after 9/11 to help local fire departments improve their programs.
Tiffin was awarded over $600,000 to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters, due to rapid growth. KGAN TV reports that calls to the fire department have increased from 211 in 2018 to 506 last year. If approved by the City Council, some of the funds will be used for advanced training and personal protective equipment for 32 new recruits.
Meanwhile, North Liberty used a three-year, $1 million grant to hire the city’s first full-time firefighters. The three will start next month. Each will work a 24-hour schedule so that the city will always have one full timer on duty. Two part-time firefighters will also be staffing the fire station overnight, which means that three firefighters will always be on duty each night.
The city got over $350,000 from SAFER in 2019 to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.
