Sen. Gary Peters leads bill to extend fire department aid programs

ALPENA — Fire departments depend on federal grant funding to recruit employees, purchase equipment, pay for training, and other needs.

Several federal grant programs are slated to expire soon and if they are allowed to do so, it could back some fire officials into a corner financially.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, authored and is sponsoring a bipartisan bill with fellow senators Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, Tom Carper, a Democrat from Delaware, and Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, to extend the grant programs until 2030.

Peters said the bill would reauthorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program, the Assistance to Firefighters grant program, and provide funding to the United States Fire Administration.

Peters said the United States Fire Administration will see its allocation increased to $95 million — up from the current allocation of $75 million — and the other programs will remain funded as they currently are.

Peters said most fire departments need financial support to replace gear and hire and train employees. He said small departments, such as those in townships and small towns, often need the help most.

“The smaller departments have the biggest challenges and the big fire department have the big budgets and can afford to purchase things like a Jaws of Life unit on their own,” he said. “The small departments are the ones who really depend and count on the grants.”

Alpena residents don’t need to look far to see an example of Peters’ point.

In Alpena Township, the board of trustees needs to supplement its fire department with hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, on top of a local milage, to make ends meet and keep EMS operations running.

The township has struggled to attract and retain firefighters and counts on a paid on-call staff to help respond to emergencies.

The township also hired the Alpena Fire Department to help with operations for six months in 2021 and the township approached the city, seeking services on a larger scale. The board ended up rejecting the proposed contract, which was a cheaper option at the time, and still seeks a long-term solution to its financial and staffing issues today.

Township residents voted down a tax increase twice last year that would have provided more money for fire operations in the township and relieved the general fund from the hefty allocation.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said seeking and obtaining grant funding for all operations, especially for the fire department is critical and that the township intends to apply for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant soon.

“State and federal funding mechanisms are important for all fire departments,” he said. “We will be pushing for a FEMA grant soon.”

Skibbe said the money, if granted, would help cover the cost of a new pumper, tanker fire truck.

Because the Alpena Fire Department is larger than many rural departments, it doesn’t often qualify or is overlooked when grant funding is awarded.

However, Fire Chief Rob Edmonds said, from time to time, a request for money is approved. He said the last time the department received a federal grant was in 2021, when the city received a Firefighters Assistance Grant for nearly $50,000 to purchase a specialized air compressor that is customized to fill the air tanks firefighters wear to help them breathe during fires.

Edmonds said the old unit was about 40 years old and needed to be replaced for a long time. He said it never was because there were other items of higher priorities that needed to be addressed first.

“Without the grant, we probably wouldn’t have been able to afford it and we would still be using the one that is 40 years old,” Edmonds said. “Replacing it was always a priority, but not a high enough priority. The grant allowed us to replace it with us only paying for a small match.”

Edmonds said not only do the city firefighters benefit from the new machine, but neighboring departments do too because Alpena allows nearby partners to use it to fill their tanks.

“It really is a regional asset to be used,” he said.

The bill still needs to be passed in the Senate and the House before going to Pres. Joe Biden for signing. Peters said he’s confident there will be enough votes in the House and Senate to push the bill over the finish line.

“It has broad bipartisan support,” he said.