Boring Fire District #59 (BFD) was officially awarded $453,000 in federal grant funding to increase fulltime staffing by hiring two new firefighter/paramedics. The SAFER Grant, from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will fully fund these two firefighter salaries and benefits for a period of two years. Boring Fire District completed an exhaustive application and competed against a projected 2500 applicants in the review and evaluation process. The Department of Homeland Security projected it could only fund twelve percent of the requests. The increase in firefighters will allow BFD to enhance emergency response capabilities and increase firefighter safety while BFD responds to nearly 1,700 calls for service annually. “With the Boring Fire Department covering over 60 square miles of North Clackamas County, including the communities of Damascus, Boring and Eagle Creek, this grant will keep much-needed fire stations staffed and operational to ensure that the county’s residents will have emergency response services they deserve,” said Senator Ron Wyden, who supported the grant request. Boring Fire anticipates hiring the new employees in late February. The new firefighter/paramedics will attend a rigorous nine-week training academy and will begin responding to calls in late April.
SAFER grants (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) assist fire departments by increasing the number of frontline firefighters. The goal is for fire departments to increase their staffing and deployment capabilities thereby enhancing service to the community. THE SAFER program is managed and administered by the Federal Emergency Managements Agency’s Grant Programs Directorate and supports several specific critical activities: (1) the rehiring of laid-off firefighters, (2) the retention of firefighters facing layoffs, (3) the hiring of new firefighters, and ( 4) the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
BFD would like to publically thank the following people and groups for their support in helping them obtain the grant: City of Damascus, Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, Representative Bill Kennemer, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Metro Councilor Shirley Craddick and the Boring and Barton/Eagle Creek Community Planning Organizations.
Boring Fire District #59 Background Information
Boring Fire District #59 is an all hazards fire department, responding to nearly 1700 calls for service annually. The District is served by a combination of dedicated volunteer and career firefighters serving 64 square miles. For more information about Boring Fire, please visit us www.boringfire.com.
