The Stayton Fire District has received a pair of federal grants totaling more than $1 million that will help the district with firefighter recruiting and retention and equipment needs.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the district a $769,724 grant for recruiting and retention and a second grant of $377,561 for equipment.
The recruiting and retention grant pays for a full-time position for four years, recruitment materials, a portable electronic reader board, new recruit fire and EMS training and fire gear, and leadership training.
Stayton Fire District Chief Jay Alley told Our Town that because of the grant “we will be able to continue the position for 4 more years. This position is critical to local departments since we ALL rely on volunteers to respond on emergencies.”
The grant does not require matching funds and replaces one that will be expiring in December. The recruiting and retention coordination work is shared among the Stayton, Aumsville and Sublimity districts.
The second grant will allow the district to buy 40 new self-contained breathing apparatus packs (SCBA) and related equipment such as additional face marks and a test machine.
“Our current SCBA are at the end of their life of 20 years, the manufacturer no longer supports parts (and) our last purchase of this valuable safety equipment was in 2004,” Alley said. The district used a similar grant to make those 2004 purchases.
The grant requires a 5% match from the district of $18,878.
Overall, Alley said, “the benefit to receiving these federal dollars are we can spend local tax dollars on other projects and equipment.”
