Xenia Fire Division Receives Grant to Help Keep City Safer
For Immediate Release
August 23, 2017
City of Xenia
Lee Warren, Public Relations
107 E. Main Street
Xenia, OH 45385
(937) 376-8904
Xenia Fire Division Receives Grant to Help Keep City Safer
Xenia, Ohio (August 23, 2017) - The Xenia Fire Department (XFD) has been awarded a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that will further ensure adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards around the clock for Xenia residents. The grant and a subsequent match amount, will add a total of $732,744 to the bottom line of the Xenia Fire Department.
The SAFER Act authorizes grants to career, volunteer, and combination local fire departments for the purpose of increasing the number firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain twenty-four hour staffing to provide adequate protection for residents.
The grant was developed in response to concern over the inadequacy of firefighter staffing. With state budget subsidy cutbacks and the ultimate economic stress placed upon municipal governments, awareness was raised that modifications to the SAFER statute may be necessary to enable fire departments to more effectively and affordably participate in the program.
The grant will allow the Xenia Fire Department to add three full-time firefighter position s to the ranks for the next three years. That will bring the total number of Xenia Fire Department employees to forty-five. Seventy-five percent of the new firefighter’s salary and benefits will be covered by the grant for the first two years, with thirty-five percent being covered in the third year.
As with other municipalities, the Xenia Fire Department has weathered increasing service demand while receiving reduced funding from the State of Ohio and the local share. In 2016, XFD responded to 5,659 calls, up from 850 calls in 2014.
The Xenia Fire Department hopes to have new firefighter positons filled by fall 2017.
