Changes Made to SAFER Grants to Help Avoid Firefighter Layoffs

As many as 30,000 firefighters across the country could lose their jobs this year as the novel coronavirus cuts into department budgets, but changes to a federal grant program announced Friday in Fort Worth aim to help prevent that in some departments.

That estimate came from an International Association of Fire Chiefs survey that found nearly 1,000 firefighters had been laid off or furloughed by mid-March due to the coronavirus recession, which the association deemed the “largest cuts to fire service in modern times.” Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf, flanked by a group of Fort Worth Fire cadets at the city’s training facility, announced he would waive requirements for local fire departments to qualify for federal grants that help supplement the cost of hiring or retaining firefighters.

“We want to make sure that our firefighters and our first responders are getting the access and getting the resources they need,” Wolf said.

The money, called SAFER grants, helps cover the cost of salary and benefits for new firefighters for three years. Typically a city must match at least 25% of the grant. Wolf waived that, along with other minimum budget requirements, he said, as way to help cities pay for a growing list of coronavirus-related needs. He described the waiver as a “first step,” indicating more relief could be in the works for cities that have borne the brunt of combating the outbreak.

Wolf made the announcement after touring Fort Worth Fire Department’s Station No. 17, which has a large cadet training facility. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, U.S. Rep. Kay Granger and Gary Ludwig, president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, watched with Wolf as firefighters pulled a car from under a school bus and ripped the driver-side door off during a mock rescue exercise.

Fort Worth was an appropriate place to announce the waiver, Price said.

The department has pioneered an effort to use trained firefighters to test nursing home patients and staff, one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s statewide mandates. On Monday the department received 20,000 coronavirus tests to begin administering to local retirement communities. Fire Chief Jim Davis, a registered nurse, initiated the testing program recently, and more than 20 firefighters volunteered, he said earlier this week during one of Price’s evening updates.

“We have the training, we have the equipment, we have the technology to do this safely and do it right,” Davis said of testing nursing homes.

The program has become the model for Abbott’s plan to use fire departments across Texas to operating nursing home testing sites, Price said.

She said the ability for the fire department to train firefighters and provide tests is due, in part, to the federal SAFER grants.

The city has benefited from the program off and on since 2013. Fort Worth received almost $4 million in 2018, which helped hire more than a dozen new firefighters. Using the grants to pay for the salaries for new recruits helped the city afford new fire stations and equipment, Price said. It’s unclear how much the city could qualify for in coming years.

“It couldn’t be more timely as we place increased demands on our fire department,” Price said of Wolf’s announcement.

Granger said Congress would consider other stimulus packages that could further benefit cities and front-line workers. The CARES ACT provided $100 million in grants for departments to purchase personal protection equipment and other gear needed to interact with possible COVID-19 patients, she said. As much as $500 million is being considered in the House now for the SAFER grants, though nothing has been finalized.

Fort Worth has not been untouched.

The city estimates it will go without $70 million in sales tax and similar revenue related to a downturn in spending, including around $14 million specifically for the police department. A budget gap will continue for several more years.

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