HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Washington County will hire 24 additional career firefighters after receiving approximately $4.7 million from a federal grant program aimed at improving fire department staffing.
The county announced Monday that the money was awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, Grant Program.
County commissioners authorized the Division of Emergency Services earlier this year to seek the grant for 24 firefighters. At the time, Emergency Services officials said that despite adding career firefighters at multiple stations in recent years, departments still sometimes struggle to put adequate numbers of firefighters on apparatus responding to calls.
The new firefighters will be assigned based on staffing and operational needs throughout the county. Officials said the additional personnel should improve initial apparatus staffing, get more trained firefighters to emergencies sooner and reduce the need to rely on multiple companies to assemble enough personnel at an incident.
The county operates a combination system of career firefighters and volunteer fire and rescue companies.
“This $4.7 million SAFER Grant is an investment in the safety of our citizens and the firefighters who serve them,” Emergency Services Director R. David Hays said. “Adding 24 firefighters will allow us to place more trained personnel on emergency incidents sooner, strengthen our volunteer and career response system, and continue building a sustainable fire service capable of meeting the growing needs of Washington County.”
The additional staffing is also intended to leave more firefighters available to respond to simultaneous emergencies elsewhere in the county.
The county will begin its hiring process, with successful applicants required to complete Washington County firefighter training before receiving operational assignments.
