Pa. fire department aims to hire after getting grants

By Liz Zemba
The Tribune-Review

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A Fayette County fire department that lost nearly half its members last year to budget cuts is looking to hire new members.

Uniontown Fire Department is seeking job applicants after receiving a $632,835 grant through the Department of Homeland Security, said Chuck Coldren, fire chief.

In December, the city laid off seven of its 13 firefighters to help balance its $4.6 million budget.

The manpower cuts forced closure of one of the city's two fire stations. The remaining six firefighters pulled double duty and worked voluntary overtime shifts to ensure there were two people for each shift.

The Homeland Security grant, announced in May, will allow the city to call back four of the laid off firefighters, Coldren said. Another two had been recalled prior to receipt of the grant, Coldren said.

The seventh firefighter who was laid off found employment in West Virginia. Coldren said it is unlikely that firefighter will return to Uniontown.

In addition to bringing the department back to full strength, the grant will allow the department to add two or three firefighters to its complement, Coldren said.

"In order to meet the minimum standards of the grant, we have to hire two or three more," Coldren said.

The city must establish an eligibility list before it can bring in new members, Coldren said. Potential new hires must take a written civil service exam, followed by a physical agility test.

Coldren said the four laid-off firefighters will be recalled before new ones are hired.

The two-year Homeland Security grant was available through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program, or SAFER.

Applications for the firefighter positions must be returned to the city clerk's office in Uniontown by Aug. 9.

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