Peters, Stabenow Announce Over $1,600,000 in Support of Southeast Michigan Fire Departments

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow today announced that two fire departments in Southeast Michigan will receive $1,603,144 in funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program to help recruit and hire new firefighters. Redford Township Fire Department is receiving $1,446,584 to hire six new full time firefighters and Armada Township Fire Department is getting $156,560 to recruit new on-call firefighters.

“Firefighters and first responders put themselves in harm’s way to protect and serve communities across Southeast Michigan,” said Senator Peters. “This funding is critical to ensuring that Armada Township Fire Department and Redford Township Fire Department have the resources they need to hire and recruit the necessary staff to respond to emergencies.”

“Our firefighters in Southeast Michigan put their lives on the line every day to protect our families, homes, and communities,” said Senator Stabenow. “These resources will help make sure there is always someone there to answer the call in an emergency.”

“We feel very fortunate and excited to receive this SAFER grant from FEMA,” said Scott Demoff, Redford Township Fire Chief. “Our staff worked meticulously and diligently to secure this award, which will allow us to hire six new full-time firefighters and place a third rescue squad in service. With this additional support, we anticipate great things for our department, including the ability to operate more efficiently in providing care for the citizens of Redford. I would personally like to thank FEMA for giving us this opportunity to improve our department.”

“Our department relies on SAFER grants to help recruit on-call firefighters that help protect and serve our community,” said Dan Reynolds, Armada Township Fire Department Chief. “This funding allows us to recruit students out of local high schools so they can train to become firefighters, launch great careers and boost the number of on-call firefighter and first responders. We appreciate Senator Peters and Stabenow’s support of this vital program.”

The SAFER Program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The purpose of the program is to ensure that fire departments nationwide are fully staffed and equipped to strengthen the nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards.