Southwick Fire Department Lt. Scott Bradbury, second from right, and Southwick Fire Chief Richard Anderson, right, explain to the Southwick Selectmen how a Safer Grant could benefit the department by employing a full time assistant firefighter who would help guide the department in day-to-day operations. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Board of Selectmen approved a grant application for a full-time daytime firefighter.
The SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant allows several options for hiring a firefighter.
Lt. Scott Bradbury with the Southwick Fire Department explained that the grant can be used to rehire a firefighter that was laid off, prevent a lay off, or hire a new firefighter. Bradbury proposed hiring a full-time firefighter to assist Chief Richard Anderson with daily operations.
According to fema.gov, the SAFER grant was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards established by the NFPA (NFPA 1710 and/or NFPA 1720).
The SFD is comprised of volunteer firefighters and a full-time daytime EMT staff.
“We want to get someone who could handle operations on a day-to-day basis,” said Bradbury.
The firefighter would respond to fire calls in addition to operational tasks, such as staffing shifts, code enforcement, public safety, and more.
“This person would be the chief’s right hand man during the day,” Bradbury said. “This would be someone he could rely on when he has administrative duties.”
Bradbury said the town is moving away from its roots as a farming community and its volunteer firefighters have a difficult time responding to daytime calls.
“It’s not a cure-all, but it would alleviate a lot of the challenges we have now and fill in gaps,” he said.
Anderson was supportive of the request and said the SFD is “under some strain” because it is heavily involved in work at the public school renovations.
“The school addition could keep someone busy for three years,” he said.
Anderson said Southwick “is a growing community” and needs to accommodate that growth.
The grant would fund the base salary and benefits of the position for two years. Beyond that, Bradbury said there are other grant options.
The deadline to apply for the grant is Friday.
