RAYNHAM — Chief Bryan LaCivita is pleased to announce that the Raynham Fire Department was awarded a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant that will support increased staffing for the department.
Distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the SAFER Grant provides funding for fire departments to assist them in maintaining industry staffing standards and reaching 24-hour coverage to ensure communities and firefighters receive adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.
Raynham Fire was awarded $638,624.44 — which will be administered over three years — to hire two full-time firefighters, increasing firefighter safety and service to the community. The grant was unanimously accepted by the Raynham Board of Selectmen.
The $638,624.44 grant will cover 100% of the personnel expenses associated with the cost of hiring two new full-time firefighters with no matching cost required from the town. Once the grant has been expended, the Town of Raynham will be responsible for maintaining the cost of the positions.
With the addition of two new firefighters, the Raynham Fire Department will increase its staffing numbers from 28 to 30 full-time firefighters. With their addition, the department will have 28 firefighters assigned to operations and two assigned to administrative positions resulting in seven firefighters per shift.
With greater operation staffing numbers, the department will be able to safely deploy resources in a quicker manner while still providing efficient and effective services to the community.
Chief LaCivita would like to thank several people who made the grant possible, including Lt. Jason Karns and Firefighter Drew Alexander. Lt. Karns and Firefighter Alexander’s unwavering effort on this grant project led to this award and the department thanks them for their hard work. In addition, the department would like to thank the offices of U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey for their continued support and Congressmen Stephen Lynch and Jake Auchincloss for their letters of support for the department.
“We wouldn’t have received this grant if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication from members of the Raynham Fire Department,” Chief LaCivita said. “Thanks to their efforts, this grant will help assist our department in increasing staffing levels, which will in turn allow us to greatly enhance our ability to respond to fires and other emergencies within our community. We would also like to thank our Board of Selectmen for their continued support and accepting this grant.”
This is the second time Raynham Fire has received a federal grant, with the SAFER Grant being the first to hire full-time firefighters to increase staffing numbers. In September 2020, the Raynham Fire Department received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) from FEMA to purchase a new air compressor system and firefighter breathing apparatus.
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