Committee recommends applying for FEMA SAFER grant to hire nine firefighters

On Jan. 14, 2025, the Public Safety Committee voted to send Resolution 2025-1 to BOMA with a positive recommendation to apply for the FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, asking specifically for nine firefighter positions.

Hendersonville Fire leadership told the committee the department is short several firefighters and has been affected by retirements, FMLA absences and the department’s Kelly-day schedule. “With 37 people is what every shift is supposed to have, but the last year, we've kind of been hit pretty hard with FMLAs, folks leaving, retiring out, whatever,” the fire chief said. He added recent academy classes and planned hires should restore full staffing by May 2025 but acknowledged ongoing shortfalls in the interim.

Committee members and staff discussed how the SAFER grant works and the timeline for notification. The fire chief said the SAFER grant, if awarded, typically covers the requested positions for three years and that the city would need to plan to fund positions if it opts to keep them after that period. “So after those first 3 years...the city has a decision to make to either continue to carry that on or obviously tell those folks they're laid off or gone,” the chief said.

Committee members pressed about the number to request. Chief Bush told the committee the department had estimated costs conservatively: “So we shoot high, and we might hire somebody that is gonna make 70. Right? Depending on what degree they have, they have an associates, and so that money we just turn around and say, hey. We we're not using that. The federal gov just takes that back.” He added an illustrative planning figure: “That $100,000 covers all that. Salaries, benefits, the whole 9 yards.”

Members debated nine versus 12 hires. “12 would be an ideal number,” the chief said; committee member Jenna said, “I like 9.” The chair asked for a motion and the committee moved to recommend applying for nine positions using the SAFER grant. The motion passed in committee and will now be forwarded to BOMA for formal approval.

Officials noted timeline details: academies run in February and August, the grant application window typically opens in February, and award notifications often arrive in late spring or early summer; the department said it will continue local hiring efforts mid-year if needed. The committee did not receive a final grant award at the meeting and said if award terms differ from the requested number the department and governing body would need to decide whether to accept fewer positions or decline funding.