Newtown Township Awarded $1.5M Federal Grant To Hire Firefighters

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — 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.

“We want to thank the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors for dedicating efforts to provide for fire protection of our community. We look forward to hitting the ground running and starting recruitment and advertisement soon.”

Earlier this year, the supervisors voted for the fourth time to apply for funding from the federal government to bolster its career firefighting force.

After failing to secure the grant three previous times, this time the township touted its investments in the program over the past two years as it made its case to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the funding.

“In the last two years we have dedicated capital to purchasing fire trucks and other equipment,” said Newtown Township Chairman Dennis Fisher. “We hired a deputy assistant fire chief. We struck a deal with Newtown Borough to help pay for emergency services. We also increased our commitment to recruitment and retention.”

The SAFER grant program provides funding to fire departments and volunteer firefighter organizations to increase the number of career firefighters and to attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

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.”

Unlike previous awards which required a 25 percent match, this SAFER grant would require no match from the township and would fully fund the new hires for the next three years.

“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.”