Federal lawmakers keep grant funding for Delaware fire departments, EMS available

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 is set to see some refreshment that keeps several funding sources from running dry.

The Fire Grants and Safety Act ensures some 58 registered fire departments in Delaware and the Delaware Fire School will maintain access to federal grant programs like Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, and the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, according to Sen. Tom Carper's office. These grants totaled nearly $4 million in funding to Delaware outfits in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

They were about three months away from statutory sunset. The bipartisan legislation, authored by Sen. Carper and three fellow lawmakers, now heads to the president's desk, likely securing funding for another five years.

The United States Fire Administration will also see new appropriations, per S.870, at $95 million for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, to provide fire training, coordination and other resources. That's nearly a $20 million increase. The grants included in the reauthorization package can help career, combination or all-volunteer departments with equipment, training and other needs for emergency response.

The bill also includes the ADVANCE Act, legislation aiming to boost development and deployment of new carbon-free nuclear technologies.

Fresh off his own vote, Carper sees the bill as guarding basic quality of life. But also, doing so in an unpredictable climate crisis.

"Quality of life is also the ability to respond to disasters, in many cases, natural disasters," said the Democrat finishing his final year in the Senate. "That could be lightning strikes; when the area is just incredibly dry; it could be floods that flow from, not just tornadoes and hurricanes, but just from regular high rising seawaters. And again, there's responsibility to deal with these threats."

And Delaware fire and emergency departments, the co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus said, need to be ready for it.

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'They expect the best'

Wilmington Fire Chief John Looney would agree.

"Our citizens, the residents, the business owners, the large corporations — I mean, they expect only one thing," he said. "They expect the best. They expect when there's emergency, at their house, their business, whatever the case may be, they expect fully trained personnel, fully equipped personnel, arriving, assessing and mitigating the situation."

Operating both a fire and emergency medical services department only grows more challenging, he said. Looney doesn't lead a volunteer company, though they make up the majority in Delaware. However, he sees volunteer numbers strain in the county, while everything else gets more expensive. Grants, he said, are pivotal.

"They're for our operations. They're for our fire prevention. They're crucial," he said, particularly highlighting Assistance to Firefighters grants, while SAFER grants tend to help departments secure personnel. "If these AFGs were to go away, and the SAFER grants... I mean, that's going to be a hard hit for departments everywhere."

Such support appears to be on the mind in state government as well.

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In response to the increased awareness of first responder burnout and mental health struggles, the Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission launched a Mental Health & Resiliency Program this year.

And after years of financial strife, a new bill passed through General Assembly will enable legislation for counties to impose a fee on properties to assist the state’s struggling fire departments. House Bill 127 would give Delaware’s three counties the option to enforce a “fire protection fee” on properties, as previously reported, excluding state-owned properties and others tax-exempt. It awaits Gov. John Carney’s signature.

“Firefighters put their lives on the line every day to protect families and communities across the First State and the country," Sen. Carper said of the federal legislation. "It is our duty as lawmakers to provide the critical tools and training they need to effectively do their jobs, and I’m proud to have led the effort to send the bipartisan Fire Grants and Safety Act to President Biden’s desk."

Got a tip? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on X @kpowers01.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Federal grant funding for Delaware fire departments to avoid sunset