Atlantic City And Camden Fire Departments Receive $14.8 Million For Firefighter Staffing
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and
Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced the Atlantic City and Camden fire departments were awarded a combined $14,835,147 in federal funding for firefighting staffing. The funding is made available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. The highly competitive SAFER grant program is designed specifically to staff departments with trained firefighters.
“The cities of Atlantic City and Camden have been devastated by layoffs to their fire departments and this critical federal funding will put firefighters back on the job protecting our families and neighborhoods,” said Lautenberg, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, which funds the SAFER grant program. “With communities across New Jersey struggling to keep their first responders on the job, I will continue working in the Senate to ensure that federal funding for public safety in New Jersey is a priority.”
“Emergencies won’t wait for flush budget years – and we can’t either," said Menendez. "Police, firefighters and first responders must be on the job in order to do their job. Atlantic City and Camden will now have the resources to keep front line firefighters protecting and serving the community.”
The $14,835,147 in federal funding will be distributed as follows:
- Atlantic City Fire Department - $9,726,403
- Camden Fire Department - $5,108,744
The SAFER grant program provides funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter organizations in order to help them increase the number of trained "front line" firefighters in their communities.