Short-staffed: Spring Hill BOMA approves grant application to hire more firefighters
As Spring Hill's population continues to grow, so does its need to provide citizens with proper emergency services, such as hiring and retaining an adequate staff of firefighters.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted this month to approve a federal grant application via the Department of Homeland Security, which if awarded would be used to hire additional fire personnel without burdening local taxpayers.
City Administrator Pam Caskie said, while this wouldn't exactly solve all of the issues facing the fire department, such as providing higher salaries or purchasing additional vehicles and equipment, this grant would address Spring Hill Fire Department's low staff numbers.
Another need is to have sufficient staff in place so that the upcoming Fire Station No. 4 can be operational in late 2024.
"It's like we are playing 11-man football with eight people on the field," Caskie said. "This is an opportunity to solve some of the problem. Not all of them, but some of them."
Caskie added that a stipulation of the grant is also aimed at retaining employees and that anyone hired using the funds must remain with the department for at least three years.
New Spring Hill Fire Chief Graig Temple added that his department has experienced 323 instances of being short-staffed over the last 90 days, such as not having enough firefighters available to properly respond to emergency calls. Being short-staffed has also prevented SHFD from achieving ISO-1 status, which affects things like home and business insurance for citizens.
"The purpose of this grant is to kind of give us a shot in the arm, and to give us adequate personnel to meet today's challenges, not the future, but today," Temple said. "
Temple added that being short-staffed has also prevented SHFD from achieving ISO-1 status, which affects things like home and business insurance rates. The department currently retains an ISO-3 rating. By hiring additional staff, the grant will better the chances of Spring Hill achieving an ISO-1.
"The area in which we receive our biggest deficiency is called 'department analysis,' and that's our response times, station locations and our staffing," Temple said. "This will definitely help us improve that, as well as Station 4. We're not far from achieving an ISO-1, which will see insurance savings to our business community, as well as residential for fire insurance."
The application process will begin in January and will be open for 30 days. Temple said it is uncertain as to when news of grant approvals will be issued, as they tend to be announced periodically between the summer and fall.
"They award in several different grant cycles. We may hear early, such as late spring or early summer," Temple said. "The last round of awards were at the end of September, and so it can be any time."
The item was ultimately approved unanimously.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Spring Hill BOMA approves grant application to hire more firefighters
