Safe staffing levels increase public safety
Monday, February 5, 2007
Arlington, VA
In November 2005, Arlington County, Virginia, received an $800,000 SAFER grant to allow the Arlington County Fire Department to hire eight new fire fighters. Those fire fighters officially began on the job on June 22, 2006.
Prior to the award, the Arlington County Fire Department had four fire fighters, the minimum number of fire fighters needed to respond safety and effectively to emergencies, on only 10 of its 14 fire suppression units. With the addition of eight more fire fighters made possible by the SAFER grant, it increases the number of fully staffed units to 12.
SAFER grants provide funding to local fire departments to help pay costs associated with hiring additional fire fighters. As two-thirds of fire departments do not meet national standards for staffing, SAFER grants are critical to fire fighter and public safety.
For Fiscal Year 2005, $65 million in SAFER grants were awarded.
The fire service strongly supports the SAFER grant program, citing its necessity and importance. “Adequate staffing is the number one need of the fire service,” says International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger. “SAFER grants will help ensure that our nation’s domestic defenders have the personnel they need to respond to both everyday emergencies and large-scale disasters, and protect the public safety.”
