The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently awarded a $1.7 million ‘SAFER’ Grant to the Rutherford County Fire And Rescue Department, Chief Larry Farley announced Friday, Aug. 17.

The FEMA grant will provide salaries for 15 additional full-time firefighters. The grant will be sent for County Commission approval in mid-October. Farley said he hopes are that the new firefighters will be on board by November.

"The added personnel mean that Rutherford County Fire Rescue will have greater responding capabilities for the community," Farley said. "This is essential, given the increasingly high call volume that has resulted from the rapid growth in the county. It also increases the likelihood of expanding operations including fire suppression and vehicle rescue, from two fully staffed paid stations in the county to three."

SAFER Grants are awarded by FEMA, who administers the SAFER Act which was enacted by Congress in 2004 in response to concerns over the adequacy of firefighter staffing.

The SAFER Act authorizes grants to career, volunteer, and combination fire departments for the purpose of increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry-minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

Rutherford County Fire And Rescue Department

In July 2010, five volunteer fire departments and two rescue squads in Rutherford County were combined together to form the new Rutherford County Fire Rescue Department. The department is headed by Fire Chief Larry Farley in a full time paid position. Currently, there are 26 paid personnel and 30 volunteers. Station 1 on Barfield and Station 5 on East Jefferson Pike are fully staffed fire stations.

Since its inception, the department has been making great strides in improving services to citizens of the county by increasing training requirements and staffing availability. In recent months average response times to motor vehicle accidents have dropped from 16 minutes to 6.8 minutes, and fire responses have dramatically decreased.