Northwood: Grant will fund more firefighters

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With a grant of $939,819, the City of Northwood will be hiring three full-time firefighters for three years.
The city announced last week it has received a SAFER grant – Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response – one of five departments in the U.S. to be awarded a grant.
Fire Chief Joel Whitmore said three current firefighters are already being transitioned from part-time status to full-time.
“We hope to get that accomplished by the end of this month,” he said, adding there are currently no full-time firefighters on the roster.
He said the full-time firefighters will be working with part-time staff to maintain a continuous presence of four fire and EMS personnel on duty at all times.
“With the SAFER grant we will have three additional full-time firefighters, It could come from within or from outside depending on where we get the applicants from,” he said. “We have from the time the grant was awarded 180 days to get them working. That’s the stipulations of the grant.”
The Northwood Fire Department operates out of Station 82 on Wales Road and Station 83 on Tracy Road.
The department website lists about 18-20 personnel at each station,
“We’re working toward a model of part-time, full-time where we are going to have both. It is very difficult to keep part-time people and it’s very difficult to find full-timers because everybody is looking for them. There is a huge need with a small pool,” the chief said. “It’s not just a problem here. I’ve talked with friends of mine who are fire chiefs in other parts of the state and they have the same issues.”
The SAFER program was established to provide funding to fire departments and volunteer organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained “front line” firefighters available in their communities.
The goal is to enhance the local fire departments comply with response and operational standards set by the National Fire Protection Association.
Northwood administrator Kevin Loughlin said the Federal Emergency Management Agency determined the Northwood Fire Department’s hiring plans is consistent with the SAFER grant’s purpose.
Statistics compiled by the department show that calls for service have climbed steadily since 2013 when there were 701 calls. By 2018 there were 967 calls and by 2021 there were 1,088 calls. In 2023, there were 1,378 calls and through May of this year there were 556 calls.
Chief Whitmore said the department is on pace to surpass last year’s total.
In the latest round of SAFER funding, only four other fire departments received grants:
-Marble Falls, Texas, $858,438.
-Kendallville, Indiana, $263,383
-Northside Fire District, Idaho, $697,404
-Cooper, Texas, $657,410