Md. fire department to lose 12 firefighters as grant runs out

Delaware Online

SALISBURY, Md. — The Salisbury Fire Department may lose 12 positions when a grant funding their jobs runs out this year.

The department has improved response times to emergencies since the 12 firefighters were hired in October 2012, Fire Chief Rick Hoppes told the City Council last month. Funding for the positions runs out in October. To retain the 12 firefighters would cost the city $700,000 a year.

But the city is struggling financially with a shrinking amount of tax dollars coming into its coffers. “We will look high and low, near and far, to try to keep these guys as long as we can,” Mayor Jim Ireton said recently. “But there’s no way we can keep them all if there’s no other grant opportunity out there.”

Full story: Md. firefighters jobs in jeopardy