Thanks to a $1.3 million SAFER grant from the federal government – SAFER, an acronym for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response – the Dennis Fire Department will hire 8 new firefighters. Because the department provides both fire and EMS service, the new hires must be firefighters AND emergency medical technicians or paramedics.
Dennis Fire officials say when the employment application period ended on November 10, the department had 114 applications in hand for the eight positions.
The SAFER grants are designed to help fire departments increase or maintain the number of trained, "front line" firefighters available in their communities. The 3-year grant pays 75% of the new-hire employment costs for the first and second year, and 35% for the third. The community picks up the total cost thereafter.