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Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Services (SAFER) Grant
Public Safety Grants Consulting

The application period for this grant is now closed.
Use the information below to help you start preparing for next year. For more funding opportunities for your department, please check our Currently Open Grants »


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Download Kurt's Annotated SAFER Guidelines** (Adobe PDF)

  • Hold mouse over balloons and highlighted sections for pop-ups of Kurt's SAFER commentary
  • The document was reviewed and has been annotated with helpful hints and information which will make your application process much easier. The comments, interpretations and or opinions of our consultant are theirs' alone and do not represent the official comments or recommendations of DHS/FEMA/USFA.
  • The services of our Grants Consultant are available free of charge to customers of CHIEF as a customer service to you, our valued customer and we encourage you to use CHIEF as your source of public safety equipment. We like to know who we help, and would appreciate you filling out our contact form if you have downloaded this document and found it helpful to you.

How can the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Services (SAFER) Grant help your Fire/Rescue department?

  • Increase personnel to attain 24-hour protection from fire and fire-related hazards
  • Easier application: Fire/Rescue can apply directly for these funds using a guided online "e-grant" process
  • CHIEF offers the free services of grant consultants to assist you throughout the application process **

For full details, eligibility requirements and application guidelines, go to the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Services (SAFER) Grant homepage »

Application Period Opens: May 27, 2008, 8 a.m. ET

Application Deadline: CLOSED

Sponsor:
Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

What is it?
The purpose of the SAFER grants is to award grants directly to volunteer, combination, and career fire departments to help the departments increase their cadre of firefighters. Ultimately, the goal is for SAFER grantees to enhance their ability to attain 24-hour staffing and thus assuring their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. The SAFER grants have two activities that will help grantees attain this goal:

  1. hiring of firefighters
  2. recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters

The Hiring of Firefighters Activity involves a five-year grant to assist fire departments pay a portion of the salaries of newly hired firefighters. These newly hired positions must be in addition to authorized and funded active firefighter positions. Grantees must do everything in their power to maintain the number of authorized and funded positions as declared at the time of application PLUS the awarded new firefighter positions throughout the period of performance (five years). Grantees that fail to maintain this level of staffing risk losing all or a portion of their grant.

Volunteer, combination, and non-profit career fire departments are all eligible to apply for assistance in hiring new firefighters. These grants require the awardee to match an increasing proportion of the salary over a four-year period; in the fifth year of the grant, the awardee must absorb the entire cost of any positions awarded as a result of the grant.

The Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity provides assistance to awardees for periods of up to four years. The purpose of these grants is to assist with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Volunteer departments, combination departments and local or statewide organizations that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters are eligible to apply for assistance under this activity.

Links to help with your Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Services (SAFER) Grant application: ***