Hempfield leaders are looking for federal dollars that would benefit the Hempfield Township Fire Department.
During a meeting last week, supervisors authorized the township manager to advertise for a grant writer and manager, one of the first steps as they prepare to submit an application in July for a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant.
The grant is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency with the goal of providing funding to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help increase or maintain the number of trained firefighters. The township has been managing a similar grant for county-wide fire departments, which was awarded in 2017.
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021 8:00 a.m.
| Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021 8:00 a.m.
A firefighter works outside of a New Kensington house. A $4.3 million federal grant has helped officials recruit 267 firefighters to Westmoreland County departments.
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Officials are on target to meet a goal to recruit 300 new firefighters in Westmoreland County under a $4.3 million federal grant.
There have been 267 new recruits to fire departments around the county since the grant was awarded in 2017, according to James Shaw, Hempfield’s director of code and safety. The grant has footed the bill for new turnout gear, physicals and training for those recruits, inching closer to reaching the target number by November when the funding runs out.