“I’m pleased to announce that on Monday, October 14, the City Council unanimously voted in favor of accepting the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant award of $1,543,122!” said Culver City Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells. “The SAFER grant will help our Fire Department improve its staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies more safely and effectively.”
The Fire Department’s incident responses reached a record high of 6,791 in 2018, which is 20% higher than in 2016. Answering to increasing demand, additional firefighters will help improve the Department’s staffing and capabilities, achieve responses that are faster for the Culver City community and provide safer incident scenes for Culver City firefighters.
“The SAFER grant will help defray the costs of adding six new firefighters to the department and put a much-needed third paramedic rescue ambulance into service,” said Culver City Fire Chief David White. “We are extremely grateful for the support of our community, the Mayor and City Council. The total number of operational career personnel will increase to 60 members, and the department’s daily staffing will grow from 18 to 20 members.”
The SAFER grant is a three-year commitment. The grant covers 75% of the salary and benefit costs for the new firefighters in years one and two and 35% of the costs in year three.
“This marks the first time since 1981 the Department has increased its daily frontline staffing,” Chief White added.
The Department maintains an ISO Class 1 Rating and has been accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International for the past 21 years.
City of Culver City
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