Missoula Fire Department Receives $7 Million in Federal Funding

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - An announcement from Montana Senator Jon Tester this week stated that the City of Missoula Fire Department received a $7 million SAFER grant from the federal government. SAFER is an acronym for ‘Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response’.

I spoke with City Fire Chief Gordy Hughes about the announcement who was grateful for the news.

Fire Chief Gordy Hughes Announced the $7 Million SAFER Grant

“Always good to get good news, and we haven't had a lot lately,” began Chief Hughes. “But today we get to celebrate the announcement of a SAFER grant award that is from the federal government, from the FEMA office for staffing of firefighters. What this does is it pays for the staffing of 20 firefighters for Missoula Fire Department for the next three years.”

Hughes said the federal grant will augment the voter-approved continuing $7 million funding for the fire department through the recently passed Fire Levy.

Hughes Said Some of the Levy Monies Will be Used to Build a New Fire Station

“Hopefully the listening audience remembers the passage of our levy, which identified the need for ongoing staffing for the department to meet the growing needs of the community in our call volume and response times,” he said. “The general public went out and voted for that levy passage, which identified 20 additional firefighters as our need.”

Chief Hughes said the federal grant will also help the department use some of the levy funding for a new fire station.

“This grant will pick up the first three years of the funding for those individuals and allow for us to shift some of those monies around to get the construction of station six underway sooner than later,” he said.

Chief Hughes Provided a Timeline for Use of the Grant Funding

Hughes shared the timeline for the federal SAFER funding.

“Once the announcement has been officially made from the federal government, we have 30 days for the acceptance of the award, and then 180 days once we start the hiring to bring our on-boarding of those 20 individuals, and that's when the grant funding begins,” he said.