WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Mike Carey (OH-15) and Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01) introduced bipartisan legislation to enhance a federal grant program utilized by local fire departments.
As part of their longstanding support for local firefighters, Carey and Landsman introduced the Enhancing SAFER Grants for Local Firefighters Act – bipartisan legislation to enhance an existing federal grant program used by local fire departments.
Currently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing For Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program provides local fire departments grants to hire firefighters. Congressman Landsman and Congressman Carey’s legislation would expand the SAFER program to allow fire departments to also utilize these grants to recruit and retain firefighters through recruitment and retention bonuses. Additionally, the legislation would allow fire departments’ applications to the SAFER grant program to be valid for five years, instead of the current one year, to reduce the cost and administrative burdens faced by local fire departments in having to apply annually.
The Enhancing SAFER Grants for Local Firefighters Act has been endorsed by Cincinnati Fire Fighters Union Local 48 and the Ohio Association of Professional Firefighters.
Congressman Carey said, “A fire in a home or business can mean anything from an inconvenience to the unthinkable. Highly-trained ‘Front Line’ firefighters provide lifesaving service to communities across Ohio. Fire departments’ ability to rely on a strong Front Line, year after year, is invaluable. We are proud to join this bipartisan effort to ensure our communities have the resources and personnel they need to respond to fires safely and effectively.”
Congressman Landsman said, “For our communities to be safe, we need experienced and well-trained firefighters on the ground and in our neighborhoods. But right now, with recruits in short supply, public safety is being jeopardized. By providing bonuses for recruitment and retention and making the process easier for our local departments to access these federal dollars, we’ll be investing in our firefighters right here in Southwest Ohio and across the country.”
The introduction of the Enhancing SAFER Grants for Local Firefighters Act builds on similar bipartisan legislation introduced by Carey and Landsman in May 2023 focused on local law enforcement – the Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act.
The full text of the Enhancing SAFER Grants for Local Firefighters Act can be found here.