CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Albemarle County Fire Rescue has received a federal grant, its fifth since 2020, which will enable the department to hire, train and deploy six full-time firefighters, the department announced Monday.

ACFR was awarded the $1.03 million through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, which is designed to help localities bring on professional firefighters to provide better service

“I can’t be more proud of our team, both of them, fire rescue and our finance team in the county, that put these grants together (to) bring on additional firefighters,” County Fire Rescue Chief David Puckett said.

The six firefighters that will be hired with the grant’s funds will address a staffing need identified in the recent Fire Rescue Staffing Study, according to ACFR’s release.

“In that study for Fire Rescue, one of the items they identified is, we didn’t have enough staffing to meet our existing commitments without significant overtime or, more importantly, mandatory overtime,” Puckett said. “So, these six firefighters are directly targeted at trying to fix that issue. Most fire departments across the state and the county are always struggling with trying to get enough staffing on the street.”

Previous awards have helped establish daytime engine staffing in Crozet and North Garden, expand coverage at rural stations, transition North Garden to 24/7 operations, and fund additional personnel for the ladder company at ACFR’s Station 11.

“Collectively, these investments have strengthened emergency response capabilities and expanded service coverage throughout the County,” the release said.

These new six firefighters will help fill the gaps when people are out sick or when vacancies occur, Puckett said.

The money comes at just the right time, as Puckett said interviews for the new positions started Monday and will go throughout the week for their planned recruit school in January.

“We plan on hiring 24 then, and as you know it probably takes close to a year by the time we hire somebody and then they’re on the street providing service, so it’s quite a bit of investment and work to get them trained up with all the skills they need to deliver service,” he said.

In addition, Chief Puckett said 2027 will be the first year ACFR runs two recruit schools, the one that starts in January and they another that starts in July.

“We try to make sure we can keep up with all our staffing demands,” he said. “So, if anyone is interested in changing careers or a career in the fire service, it’s absolutely one of the best jobs I think in the world. And it’s safe from AI. I don’t see AI taking over any of our roles anytime soon.”

Funding firefighters is an ongoing challenge for the county and the Board of Supervisors.

Recently, Supervisors had to include provisions in the budget to begin paying salaries and benefits for some of the first firefighters brought on through SAFER grants that were needed to continue their employment.

“FEMA’s SAFER grants cover a three-year period and include a matching requirement, meaning the cost of the firefighter positions is shared between FEMA and Albemarle County at specified percentages throughout the grant period,” ACFR spokesperson Reagan Samuels told Cville Right Now in an email.  “Once the three-year grant period ends, the County assumes full financial responsibility for these positions.

“These ongoing costs are already incorporated into the County’s five-year financial plan and are accounted for through the annual budget process. This planning helps ensure the County can sustain these positions beyond the grant period and continue providing consistent emergency services throughout Albemarle County.”

Albemarle most recently received a $1.7 million SAFER grant in to hire seven new firefighters in 2024 and a $7.1 million SAFER grant in 2023 to hire 30 new firefighters.