Board approves financing for two engines and authorizes SAFER grant application to hire firefighters
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Summary
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors approved a master lease and vendor contract to buy two fire engines and authorized staff to apply for a FEMA SAFER grant to add career firefighters, while noting required future local matches and timeline constraints.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors on July 1 authorized a master lease financing agreement and directed the county administrator to execute a contract with Atlantic Emergency Solutions, Inc., for the purchase of two fire engines, and approved staff applying for a federal SAFER grant to fund additional career firefighters.
Fire Chief Joe Cardello told the board the county's fleet team monitors apparatus lifecycles and that delivery times and prices have changed: "The cost of apparatus has drastically increased over the past several years and is projected to continue. The time it takes to [complete] from contract signature to delivery is now 3 years for engines," he said.
The board voted unanimously to approve the financing and contract (proposed resolution R25-169). County staff said the purchases were included in the capital-improvement plan; the master lease will finance equipment already appropriated in the CIP.
On personnel, Chief Cardello asked permission to apply for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. The application would ask for federal funding to add firefighters at stations that do not currently have 24-hour dedicated engine-company staffing. The chief told the board FEMA expects roughly 300 awards from the current round and that the SAFER award period and requirements are structured over multiple years.
Chief Cardello described the grant's cost-sharing: applicants must provide a share of the cost up front; FEMA covers most of salary-and-benefits costs during the three-year performance period and local contribution requirements increase over time. He also noted a numerical error in the meeting background packet and said a year‑three local contribution figure should be corrected in county materials.
Board members asked for additional operational detail and data to inform future budget decisions if Stafford were awarded the grant. Several supervisors said they'd like a clear accounting of call volumes and the shift coverage gap so the board could choose which station(s) would receive funded staffing if an award is made. Chief Cardello said the county would return to the board to accept and implement any award, with a recruitment window following notification.
On the grant application the board approved a motion authorizing staff to apply for SAFER (proposed resolution R25-180); the motion passed unanimously. The board's action permits submission of the federal application but does not commit the county to hiring until a grant award is accepted and the board approves the resulting personnel and budget actions.