GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — FOX 17 learned new details Wednesday about the city of Grand Rapids’ push to hire more first responders.
The city secured a $2.8 million grant, which will allow the fire department to hire eight new firefighters.
The fire department says the new firefighters will work at either the station on Kalamazoo Avenue or the one on Martin Luther King Jr. Street.
Lieutenant Ryan Sparks told FOX 17 the response times in those two areas could improve, so he requested the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.
READ MORE: Grand Rapids Fire Dept. to receive millions in federal funding for new hires
The FEMA grant is federally funded, entirely, and meant to last for three years.
Other departments have faced issues when the grant expired, but Lt. Sparks hopes the data will showcase why these eight positions should be funded permanently.
“Our hope is that we’ll be able to show the value of having those, just those two extra people per shift, and how much better that’s [going to] be for the citizens of the city,” Lt. Sparks added.
The new firefighters still must go through training and testing but should be with the Grand Rapids Fire Department by the beginning of 2023.
