Federal grant would rehire Pa. firefighters

By James Osborne
The Philadelphia Inquirer

COLLINGSWOOD, Pa. — Collingswood will be able to rehire three laid-off firefighters after being awarded a federal grant for almost $400,000, the office of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) announced Thursday.

The Camden County borough let three firefighters go last spring, part of a statewide trend of cities and towns trimming their fire and police ranks.

The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will fund the firefighters for two years, after which the suburb of 14,000 residents will have to pick up the cost, Lautenberg's office said.

"There's a possibility that it would just be a two-year appointment, and they're going to be made aware of that," Collingswood Fire Chief John Amet said. "It's our hope the economic conditions will change around and we can retain them."

The Collingswood Council is still considering whether to accept the grant, which would prohibit the borough from further firefighter layoffs in what is expected to be a tight budget year, Amet said.

The FEMA grant program, which handed out $207.3 million in 2009, is designed to assist departments in hiring back laid-off firefighters. It received 1,861 applications in 2010, a slight decrease from the previous year, according to FEMA.

On Thursday, Lautenberg's office also announced New Jersey fire departments were awarded $1.1 million in FEMA grants for equipment and training.

Among the eight departments receiving the grants were Westville in Gloucester County and Alloway Township in Salem County.

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