BAINBRIDGE – Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) reminds fire departments across Ohio’s 14th Congressional District of the opportunity to apply for funding through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program. The application period will remain open until 5:00 PM on Friday, May 15, 2020.

 

“Our brave fire fighters and first responders put their lives on the line every day to keep our families and communities safe,” said Joyce. “It is absolutely critical that they are protected and adequately equipped while on the job, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m proud to support federal funding for the SAFER Grant Program and urge all fire departments across OH-14 to apply so they continue to have the personnel, equipment and training needed to ensure their firefighters and first responders can do their jobs as safely as possible.”

 

The SAFER Grant Program distributes funds to assist fire departments and volunteer interest organizations with increasing or maintaining the number of trained firefighters and emergency services personnel available in their communities. The program seeks to assist local fire departments with deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, ensuring communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. The grants are available to volunteer, professional, or combination fire departments.

 

FEMA will host live Adobe Connect webinars to provide an overview of the FY 2019 SAFER Grant Program, including both the Hiring of Firefighters activity and the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters activity. The presentations will outline important information and reminders about cost share requirements (hiring activity), program priorities, eligible costs, how to navigate the grant application, and tips for preparing a SAFER application. FEMA Fire Program Specialists will be available to answer questions. The Adobe Connect webinar can be found at https://fema.connectsolutions.com/fy2019safer/ and the webinar schedule is below:
 

SAFER Webinar Schedule:
 

Topic	Day of Week	Date	Time
FY 2019 SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity	Wednesday	04/15/2020	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
FY 2019 SAFER Recruitment and Retention Activity	Thursday	04/16/2020	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
FY 2019 SAFER Recruitment and Retention Activity	Wednesday	04/22/2020	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
FY 2019 SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity	Thursday	04/23/2020	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
FY 2019 SAFER Hiring of Firefighters Activity	Wednesday	04/29/2020	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
FY 2019 SAFER Recruitment and Retention Activity	Thursday	04/30/2020	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET

 

For more information on SAFER Grants and the SAFER Grants application process, please visit https://www.fema.gov/staffing-adequate-fire-emergency-response-grants. Applicants can also receive assistance by contacting the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. The e-mail address for questions is firegrants@fema.dhs.gov. Additionally, interested organizations may contact Joyce’s Mentor office at (440) 352-3939 to inquire about letters of support for their applications.

 

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