The Crawfordsville (Ind.) Fire Department may be one of the few departments actually hiring — instead of firing — fire-service personnel. Chief Eric Small said the ALS department applied for and was awarded a nearly $1 million SAFER grant and plans to hire nine firefighter/paramedics this year to serve a rising demand for EMS and fire services that often happen during tough economic times.

“When times are bad first-responder service requests boom — including an increase in arson cases or structure fires where home owners or commercial landowners have slacked on needed maintenance due to lack of money,” Small said. “Medical calls rise because residents must cut back on medical care and prescriptions.”

The Crawfordsville department currently has 38 career firefighters who cover 144 square miles and serve a call volume of 3,000 runs a year, about 2,100 of those emergency medical calls. There are two fires stations and its annual operating budget is about $2.8 million. However, call volume continues increase yet the number of firefighters on staff hasn’t changed in 20 years, Small said. In addition, the department does not meet NFPA 1710, the standard for the organization and deployment of fire-suppression operations.

Small approached the city council, explained the increased call volume and lobbied that firefighters must be hired even though tax revenue was down. He pitched the SAFER grant to initially pay for hiring the nine firefighters for two years, with the third year being paid by the department and city. With the council’s support, a grant writer affiliated with the fire service was hired for $4,000 to write the grant.

“The grant writer was someone affiliated with the fire service who worked with us to help increase our chances, versus having someone at the department do it who may not have the expertise,” Small said.

Part of the process was to determine how the department would pay firefighter salaries after the two-year SAFER grant funding ran out. Small said funds recouped from EMS services might supplement the salary as last year the department raised $400,000 in ambulance transfer fees — half of which was returned to the city, while the other half was placed in a fire department non-revert fund to pay for apparatus replacements. He said the money is recouped by billing transport services to insurers, while the patient is billed for the balance and has an option to pay in monthly installments. After six months of non-payment, the balance is sent to a credit bureau.

Small advised chiefs to ensure city officials are informed of the grant process, which includes setting aside tax dollars to pay for staff after SAFER funds are spent.

“I wanted to keep them as educated as possible, because the whole purpose of the grant is to get that money to maintain or increase manpower to better service our community,” he said.