Fire station, wildland funding included in approved stimulus plan

By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of million of dollars are earmarked for fire stations and wildland management in the $787 billion stimulus plan.

The package includes $210 million for modifying, upgrading, or constructing fire stations, a reduction on the $500 million figure that featured in a Senate version of the bill.

Local matching grants for the SAFER program are waived for 2009 and 2010 appropriations as part of the package.

The SAFER waiver language was added to help communities that need to hire additional firefighters but are unable to do so because of the current economic downturn.

President Obama signed the stimulus bill Tuesday after it was approved by Congress at the end of last week. 

IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger said, "We applaud Congress and the Obama administration for their swift response to the economic crisis facing fire departments across America. 

"This funding will provide immediate aid to struggling communities, but even more importantly, it will be critical to helping jumpstart our ailing economy."

Meanwhile, funds for wildland management remained unchanged in the compromise version of the measure that was approved by both the Senate and the House Representatives, and then signed by President Obama.

The bill outlines: 

• "An additional amount for Wildland Fire Management, $15 million, to remain available until September 30, 2010."
• "An additional amount for Wildland Fire Management, $485 million, to remain available until September 30, 2010, for hazardous fuels reduction and hazard mitigation activities in areas at high risk of catastrophic wildfire, of which $260 million is available for work on state and private lands using all the authorities available to the Forest Service."

Blogging on The Kitchen Table, retired Cal Fire/CDF Fire Captain Mike Morales said, "Money for hazardous fuel abatement is long overdue. For me it comes down to firefighter safety issue."

Robert Tutterow, vice-president of the Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization, which runs the Annual Fire Station Symposium, said earlier this week that he welcomed any additional funding for fire stations.

"Lots of modifications are needed to many fire stations and there are also some stations that should be relocated more strategically," he said. 

The IAFC said it expects the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Office to administer the fire station construction grants. It believes that the application process will use a competitive process similar to what is used for the FIRE grants, with the application process believed to take place this summer.