The Cathedral City Council voted unanimously Oct. 22 to accept an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund training intended to build regional-level hazardous-materials, technical-rescue and swift-water capabilities.

Fire Chief Michael Contreras said the department applied for the grant to accelerate specialized training after lessons learned from Tropical Storm Hillary and other regional incidents. The grant award covers $877,703.63 in FEMA funding with a required local match of $87,770.37, for a combined project total of $965,474. Chief Contreras said the package covers training, travel, lodging and overtime/backfill for personnel and is designed to certify 24 firefighters in HAZMAT, technical rescue (rope/rope rescue) and swift-water operations.

Contreras told the council the grant would allow the department to reach a training level that would otherwise take many years and that locally based, state-certified instructors will help keep long-term costs down by enabling future training in-house. He said the training plan covers 16 classes over approximately 14 weeks of instruction for participants, but staff have asked FEMA whether the schedule can be extended beyond two years because the program is intensive.

Councilmembers asked about equipment needs and long-term recertification. The chief said the grant does not cover major equipment purchases (personal protective suits, specialized trailers), and the department will seek other grants, cost-share opportunities or donations to cover equipment. He said the department’s plan prioritizes swift-water training first because of local flash-flood risk and that training could be staged so smaller cohorts are trained sooner.

Councilmember Gutierrez moved approval of grant acceptance and the local match; Councilmember Carnivale seconded. The motion carried on a unanimous vote. Staff will execute grant documents and begin scheduling training and backfill per FEMA procedures.