LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — The Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District announced they would receive Federal funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, known as the SAFER Grant.
The Board of Commissioners voted to approve the grant funding's acceptance during their monthly meeting on September 29.
The LAFCRD was awarded for a total of $7,952,678.37, paid over the next three years.
The funding, slated to begin in March of 2021, is made available after quarterly reports are submitted for reimbursement. The Federal funding will fund salary and benefits for 21 new firefighter positions needed to staff Station 106. It does not cover equipment or apparatus.
The purpose of the SAFER Grant Program is to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments.
The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments' abilities to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards established by the NFPA and OSHA (NFPA 1710 and NFPA 1720 and OSHA 1910.134).
