ALTON - The Alton Fire Department is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) personnel grant in the amount of $863,602 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the hiring of four firefighters.
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Acceptance of grant funds must first be approved by Mayor Brant Walker and the Alton City Council before hiring can take place.
The period of SAFER grant funding is three years. The grant will pay for 75 percent of the salary and benefits for each of the firefighters in the first and second year of the grant; the third year of the grant funds 35 percent of salary and benefits. The new firefighters will increase the total fire department workforce to 46.
“The Alton Fire Department is thankful that the FEMA/DHS deemed our agency worthy of receiving the highly competitive federal grant,” said Fire Chief Bernie Sebold. “By adding one firefighter to each of our four shifts we will be able to improve the safety of our citizens by increasing the efficiency of our emergency operations.”
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