The Syracuse Fire Department will hire up to 20 new firefighters after winning a competitive federal grant for almost $7.6 million, New York’s two U.S. senators said today.
The grant is the largest in the department’s history, said U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. and Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds.
The federal funding will pay 100% of the salaries, wages, benefits and training for the new firefighters for three years, the senators said.
The Syracuse Fire Department competed nationally against fire departments seeking grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s SAFER program, aimed at boosting the preparedness of local fire departments.
The $7.6 million grant for Syracuse is third largest awarded in New York state in the history of the program, Schumer said.
Syracuse has relied on the program in the past to help keep a force of 368 firefighters on duty in the city.
In 2021, Syracuse received a $3.2 million federal grant to cover the salary and benefits of 12 firefighters over three years.
Monds told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that the department will keep those firefighters on the payroll next year while adding the new positions.
He said demands on Syracuse firefighters have increased over the past few years as the city’s population edged up for the first time in decades.
In 2023, the department responded to more than 30,000 alarms in Syracuse, an all-time high, Monds said. He said the number of alarms this year is on a pace to break that record.
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