June 29, 2012 – IAFF affiliates in 28 cities are breathing easier after the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) announcement that more than $69 million in Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants has been awarded to retain or rehire hundreds of fire fighters in their communities.

“At a time when communities are struggling to maintain public safety under these tight fiscal times – and when partisanship seems to hold sway – it is truly heartening to see so many city leaders do the right thing by helping to get more fire fighters back to work,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger.

The City of Detroit was awarded the largest SAFER grant in the history of the program — $22 million – just two days after Detroit Mayor Dave Bing threatened to lay off at least 164 fire fighters due to budget constraints. Still, 60 fire fighters in Detroit could receive pink slips.

The IAFF assisted many affiliates – large and small – and their fire departments in writing and editing grant applications. The IAFF also worked to extend the SAFER waivers, which were first enacted in 2009 and allow fire departments to use SAFER grants to rehire fire fighters who have been laid off and waive requirements for matching funds that are difficult for fire departments to meet in a weak economy.

Earlier this year, a delegation of Detroit Local 344 leaders met with the IAFF to discuss the SAFER program. Detroit Local 344 President Dan McNamara, along with Detroit Fire Chief Donald Austin and Kirk Lewis, Chief of Staff to Mayor Dave Bing, met at IAFF headquarters to make sure Detroit would have the best chance to receive the federal funds needed to maintain staffing levels and protect public safety.

Other cities to receive SAFER grants this week include Kansas City, MO Local 42 ($4.5 million), Hartford, CT Local 760 ($3.4 million), Elyria, OH Local 474 ($3.7 million) and Muncie, IN Local 1348 ($4.6 million). In addition, Worcester, MA Local 1009 received a $2.7 million SAFER grant.

Muncie Local 1348 President Mike Whited says, “This SAFER grant will make Muncie safer and help keep Local 1348 fire fighters safer. And it gives us another two years of safe staffing for this City and for it to turn around economically.”

While many city leaders have welcomed these lucrative grants designed to keep fire departments staffed through tough economic times, some have resisted accepting the awards.

The application period for Fiscal Year 2012 SAFER grants opens Monday, July 16, 2012, at 8:00 a.m. (EDT) and ends August 10, 2012, at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). More than $337 million is available for FY 2012 grants to help fire departments rehire and retain fire fighters, as well as hire additional personnel.