Grant helps Fla. fire department bolster staff

By Gordon Jackson
The Florida Times-Union

ST. MARYS, Fla. — The St. Marys Fire Department will soon have a full staff for the first time in two years.

City officials said the department was awarded a federal grant of $520,000 to bolster its staff.

The Department of Homeland Security grant funds salaries and benefits for three full-time and three part-time firefighters the next two years, said Robbie Horton, the department's chief.

"It's going to make it a lot safer for our folks on the scene," Horton said.

The positions have remained vacant since 2008 because the city couldn't afford to hire additional staff.

The new employees will enable the department to send three firefighters from each station to a scene, which helps them to set up hoses and other equipment quicker. The faster set-up time is crucial to saving lives and structures.

"It allows for a quicker attack," Horton said.

The staff shortage forced firefighters to wait for a second crew to respond to a fire before they could go inside a structure for safety reasons. Now, one crew can quickly deal with a fire without waiting for a truck from another fire station, he said.

The department is currently taking applications for the new jobs, which Horton said will be filled later this summer.

Mayor Bill Deloughy said the intent is to keep the new firefighters in the department after the grant expires, if the economy improves.

Deloughy praised Horton for successfully applying for the grant to improve safety for city residents.

"We're in a much better position, now," he said.

Horton credited U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., for helping the department get the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, also known as SAFER, grant.

"We need only look a few years ago to see the importance of fully equipped fire and emergency management teams," Kingston said. "I congratulate Chief Horton and Mayor Deloughy for their work in obtaining this grant and am confident they will be good stewards of this funding."

Copyright 2010 The Florida Times-Union