The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced the fifth round of the FY 2006 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants, awarding 16 grants totaling $6,883,831 to fire departments and districts throughout the United States.

Six of the grants were for more than $500,000 each. The Irondale (Ala.) Fire Department received the largest grant of the round, $775,779. The County of Orange Fire and EMS of Orange, Va. received $621,000 and the City of DeLand (Fla.) Fire Department received $613,512. Panama City Beach (Fla.) Fire Rescue received $599,198, the Falcon (Colo.) Fire Protection District received $597,458, and the Black Forest Fire Rescue Protection District of Colorado Springs, Colo. received $589,023. For a list of all grant recipients and amounts, go to the SAFER Grant Web site.

The purpose of the SAFER program is to award grants directly to volunteer, combination and career fire departments to help the departments increase their cadre of firefighters. Ultimately, the goal is for SAFER grantees to enhance their ability to attain 24-hour staffing, ensuring their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. The SAFER grants have two activities that will help grantees attain this goal:

1. Hiring of firefighters and
2. Recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.

The hiring of firefighters activity involves a five-year grant to help fire departments pay a portion of the salaries of newly hired firefighters. These newly hired positions must be in addition to authorized and funded active firefighter positions. Volunteer, combination and non-profit career fire departments are all eligible to apply for assistance in hiring new firefighters. The grants require the awardee to match an increasing proportion of the salary over a four-year period; in the fifth year of the grant, the awardee must absorb the entire cost of any positions awarded as a result of the grant.

The recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters activity provides assistance to awardees for periods of up to four years. The purpose of these grants is to assist with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Volunteer departments, combination departments, and local or statewide organizations that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters are eligible to apply for assistance under this activity.