Newtown Township has been awarded a $1.556 million federal grant to hire four additional full-time firefighters.
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant will pay for their salaries and benefits for three years at which time the township is expected to pick up the cost. The additional staffing will expand the combination staffing to seven days a week from 6 AM to 6 PM ensuring swift response to emergencies, said Chief Glenn Forsyth.
According to Forsyth, the four additional firefighters will expand the township’s full-time staff to 12 career firefighters and enable it to have two six person platoons.
“This would enable us to have a quicker response, having firefighters in the building seven days a week,” he told the supervisors earlier this year. “It would also enable us to cover for vacations so we would not be short staffed.”
“The grant is substantial to us because it will reduce our response time and the NFPA standards require us to have firefighters on the grounds within a certain amount of time,” said Forsyth.
“At this point in time, between the career staff and the volunteers, we are struggling to meet those requirements,” he said. “So it’s important that we continue to go for this grant and it’s important that we put these people in the firehouse where they need to be for a quicker response to the residents of Newtown.”
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