Crockett Fire Department To Receive $250,997 Grant
Houston County Courier -  August 2009

By Daphne Hereford
Managing Editor
News@houstoncountycourier.com

Crockett Fire Department was notified on Wednesday, July 29 that they will receive a grant worth $250,997 to increase the number of firefighters and support their work in the department.
The funding comes through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, which helps fire departments increase the number of firefighters.
CFD Chief Darrell Deckard said the grant would provide sliding scale funding for three firemen for a period of four years.
The grant funding the first year would amount to 90 percent of the salary and benefits for the newly hired firefighters.
Second year funding would amount to 80 percent; year three would be 50 percent and year four would amount to 30 percent.
Deckard said the program was slated to begin in the new 2009-2010 fiscal year budget and the department would advertise the positions and encourage qualified applicants to pursue the jobs.
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program helps fire departments increase the number of frontline firefighters.
The goal of the program is for fire departments to increase their staffing and deployment capabilities and ultimately attain 24-hour staffing, thus assuring that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

The SAFER grants support two specific activities: (1) the hiring of firefighters, and (2) recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. SAFER is part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants and is under the Office of Grants and Training of the Department of Homeland Security.