Utica Fire Department receives $2.1M to add firefighters

UTICA, N.Y. — The City of Utica has received more than $2.1 million in federal funding to hire up to eight new firefighters, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D–N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) announced.

The funding was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program.

The Utica Fire Department covers 19 square miles of a mostly urban community. The addition of eight new firefighters will ensure the region complies with the National Response Framework established by Homeland Security.

Schumer originally created the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) in 1999, which later expanded to also include the SAFER Program, which funded Utica’s grant. Currently, both programs are at risk of being eliminated. The program has provided nearly $700 million to fire departments across the state since its inception.

“From being on the frontline during COVID to fighting fires, our Utica firefighters work nonstop keeping our communities safe,” Schumer, the U.S. Senate majority leader, said in a news release. “That is why when I heard our fire departments were struggling to keep up staffing, I promised to deliver the fed dollars to give our heroes the support they need.”

Together with Gillibrand, Schumer is pushing for the Fire Grants and Safety Act of 2023, which would reauthorize funding for the U.S. Fire Administration, the AFG, and SAFER program through fiscal year 2030. The bill also pushes back the end of the SAFER and AFG programs from 2024 to 2032. The bill would increase the authorization for the U.S. Fire Administration by about $20 million, while maintaining the authorized funding level for SAFER and AFG at $750 million.

The programs provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter-interest organizations to purchase essential equipment and increase the number of trained firefighters available in their communities. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to applications that most closely address the program’s priorities and demonstrate financial need, per the senators’ release.