Senator Brown fights for firefighters

Van Wert independent/contributor content

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) — who serves as a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee — recently outlined plans to reverse proposed cuts in federal grant programs that assist local fire departments. Mark Sanders, president of the Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters, is also assisting Brown in the fight to prevent the cuts.

Affected are the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staff for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) programs. The AFG alone has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to small area community fire departments, allowing them to purchase needed equipment and provide adequate staffing to handle emergency situations.

“Firefighters put their lives on the line each day to keep our communities safe. We should not return the favor by scaling back resources that keep them safe and our fire department adequately staffed,” Brown said. “With so many communities already facing budget shortfalls, critical federal efforts like AFG and SAFER are pivotal in keeping our Ohio cities, towns, and villages safe.”

The 2012 House Homeland Security Appropriations bill imposes major cuts to both the AFG and SAFER programs, which are the only federal grant programs that help fund the purchase of new equipment and help offset the costs of training and the hiring of new firefighters.

Since 2009, Ohio fire departments have benefited from more than $29 million in AFG and SAFER Funding. Area departments that have benefited from the AFG program include Grover Hill ($59,280), Ohio City ($16,388), Middle Point ($114,950), Rockford ($69,635), Scott ($62,700), and Willshire ($85,594). While matching funds are needed for purchases, the programs make equipment purchases much more affordable than they would be otherwise.

With the proposed cuts, fire departments would have a tougher time purchasing state-of-the-art breathing apparatuses, new trucks, and other equipment that is essential to keeping them safe. They would also have fewer resources to train and recruit firefighters. Nationwide, AFG, and SAFER would see a cut of 17 percent, or $70 million, from $405 million to $335 million.

“Local economies struggling to provide critical services depend on these funds,” Sanders said. “Ensuring that our community’s fire departments are fully staffed and adequately prepared is vital to Ohio’s public safety and shouldn’t be threatened due to partisan politics. I thank Sen. Brown for his work to maintain these important programs.”

AFG provides funding to local fire departments to help them improve the effectiveness of firefighting operations. These include specialized emergency training for response to situations like terrorist attacks; enhancement of emergency medical services programs; development of health and safety initiatives; establishment of fire education and prevention programs; creation of wellness and fitness programs; and equipment and facility upgrades.

The SAFER program is intended to support the hiring of firefighters and the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. SAFER grants are administered to enhance the ability of grantees to attain and maintain 24-hour staffing and to assure that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.  The objective of the Hiring of Firefighters activity is to award grants directly to volunteer, combination, and career fire departments to help the departments increase the number of frontline firefighters.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Brown is working to reverse these cuts. In a letter to the Senate Appropriations committee he has requested that these vital programs be funded at the fiscal year 2011 levels of $450 million each.