Washington, DC - Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) today announced a $596,298 U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Gloucester City.

The funds are being administered to Gloucester City through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, and are intended to support the hiring of firefighters and the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.

“Every day, firefighters in our communities respond to alarms, not knowing what kind of emergency they’ll encounter when they arrive on scene. This funding is critical in giving our firefighters added assurances that they’ll have the manpower to respond when a crisis arises,” said Rep. Norcross.

The funds will enable the Gloucester City Fire Department to retain three firefighters. “It will help us prevent layoffs and help keep overtime down while maintaining adequate staffing. I’d like to thank Congressman Norcross, as well as our mayor and city council for their support with this,” said Gloucester City Fire Chief Brian Hagan.

The SAFER grant program is designed to help local fire departments attain and maintain 24-hour staffing and to assure that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

Read more about SAFER by clicking here.