Denison council approves application for AFG to certify 21 firefighters as paramedics
Loading...
Summary
The council unanimously authorized applying for a 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant to fund paramedic certification for 21 new hires, with an approximate program cost of $180,000 and a 10% local cost share to be covered by the city's opioid fund.
The Denison City Council on Feb. 2 authorized the city to apply for a 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) to fund paramedic certification for 21 new firefighters.
Assistant Chief Cheyenne Henderson told the council the department requires all firefighters to be certified paramedics under department policy and that AFG money would pay for those certifications. Henderson estimated the total cost of the program at about $180,000, with the grant requiring a 10% cost share (roughly $18,000) and an estimated $10,000 grant-writing fee.
"All firefighters must be certified paramedics, per department policy, and AFG funding would pay for these certifications," Henderson said. Henderson said the grant-writing fee will come from the city's grant-writer fund in this year's budget and that the 10% cost share will be funded from the city's existing opioid fund in next year's budget.
Councilman Massey moved to approve submitting an AFG application and to authorize the interim city manager to execute associated documents; Councilman Thomas seconded. The council voted unanimously to approve the application.
The council did not specify additional contingencies; staff were authorized to complete the application and execute documents needed to apply.
