Through its SAFER grant program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded more than $22.4 million this week to the city of Philadelphia, to reopen three city fire stations and staff them with firefighters for three years.
As a result, the city will hire and provide benefits to 72 firefighters, while opening the doors once more on its Engine 6, Ladder 1 and Ladder 11 facilities. As a result, communities will be better equipped to meet industry minimum standards and provide 24-hour staffing. According to FEMA, federal funding will also allow these stations to provide faster responses to first-due areas.
“Firefighters are the first to be called and the last to leave when nearly any emergency arises,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said. “The Department of Homeland Security, in partnership with FEMA and the U.S. Fire Administration and under President Biden’s leadership, is committed to ensuring every firehouse and every firefighter has the support and resources they need to do their critical jobs. The SAFER grant President Biden awarded today meets that mandate, helping the City of Philadelphia recruit and retain more first responders, and helping keep the Fishtown, Fairmount, and South Philadelphia neighborhoods safe.”
In 2022, Philadelphia suffered its highest number of fire fatalities in a decade, including more than a dozen deaths from a single fire in the Fairmont neighborhood. Ladder 1 would have been the closest to that fire, had it still been in operation.
So far, the SAFER program has awarded approximately $5.2 billion in grants for firefighters nationwide. Last year, President Joe Biden signed legislation that provided $360 million each for the SAFER programs and FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, while increasing funding for U.S. Fire Administration training and education efforts, as well as the renovation of the National Emergency Training Center.
SAFER operates as an annual competitive grant for eligible fire companies, unaffiliated EMS and state fire academies.