Aug. 10, 2012

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that the City of Phoenix was awarded $4.4 million to hire 28 full-time firefighters for positions eliminated during recent budget cuts.

During the last five years, city cuts in personnel and services have totaled more than $80 million. Th e Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) funding will allow the Phoenix Fire Department to maintain staffing on emergency response units in accordance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes.

“This funding is critical to the safety of Phoenix residents,” said Councilman Michael Nowakowski, chairman of the City Council Public Safety, Veterans, Transparency and Ethics Subcommittee.  “I know the tremendous amount of work required to be successful in securing federal funding, and applaud Chief Khan and his team for submitting an excellent application.”     

The additional firefighters will strengthen the regional automatic/mutual-aid system. The PFD Regional Dispatch Center sends the closest available fire unit to an emergency regardless of jurisdictional boundary. The automatic/mutual aid consortium includes more than 25 neighboring fire departments and provides protection to an estimated 3.8 million people.

Phoenix Fire is responsible for ensuring adequate staffing and protection levels are maintained to address threats posed to critical infrastructure assets within the Valley.  The additional firefighter positions will directly support protection to sites within the primary area and secondary sites through automatic/mutual-aid system.  

For more information, call the District 7 office at 602-262-7492 or email council.district.7@phoenix.gov.
 

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