Congressman Brett Guthrie announced Wednesday that the Owensboro Fire Department will receive an $848,040 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Responses (SAFER) program.
The grant is awarded to fire departments to assist with hiring and maintaining staff. The AFG SAFER program awarded the grant to assist OFD in hiring more firefighters.
According to Guthrie, “The Owensboro Fire Department works hard every day to protect the Owensboro community. As more people move to Owensboro, the fire department has needed to expand to continue to serve the growing community on Highway 54. This grant will allow the Owensboro Fire Department to hire more firefighters and personnel, creating jobs in our community and strengthening the Fire Department’s ability to keep Owensboro safe. I am proud that the AFG SAFER program chose the Owensboro Fire Department for this competitive grant.”
OFD Fire Chief Steve Mitchell presented a study in 2017 to Owensboro’s City Commissioners that outlined OFD’s need to continue providing a high level of service to Owensboro’s increasing population.
Because the city’s east side expansion, the grant will fund a combination pumper/ladder known as a Quint apparatus, which all allow it to be called to other areas of Owensboro if needed.
The $848,040 grant will fund the program for three years.
“We look forward to moving forward with the project and maintain our response time and emergency services levels throughout the City,” Chief Mitchell said.
