Recent layoff notices for 59 firefighters won’t be worth the paper they're printed on thanks to a new $14 million federal grant for the fire department of the capital of New Jersey, announced Congressman Chris Smith, who worked to help obtain the funding for the third consecutive two-year period.

    Layoff notices were prepared and issued to firefighters this summer and would have been effective in September. Firefighters have not been laid off yet, in hopes of the grant.

    “This grant is first and foremost about public safety and about firefighters whose life-saving jobs are slated for elimination,” Smith said. “Trenton is the historic capital of New Jersey and this grant helps protect the many thousands of people who live, work and visit the city. Of course, it’s also good news for the firefighters personally and their families who have been facing a bleak summer if the lay-offs had gone through as planned.”

    “This is a competitive grant awarded on need and merit and I commend the leaders of this effort: former Battalion Chief John Gribbin, who in his retirement has continued to lead the way for this grant, volunteer grant writer Lisa Willever and TFD CFO Mark Robotin,” Smith said. “I have worked with this trio for six years to prevent these lay-offs. They are tireless and this day would not have come without them.”

    Smith also congratulated Mayor Jackson and the council who have supported efforts to obtain this funding.

    The total via the FY2015 SAFER Program is $14,076,912 for a two-year period. The grant application award directs an estimated $13,204,000 to retain 59 active firefighters slated to be laid off and $872,900 for the hiring of five entry level firefighters.

    Since 2010, Smith has assisted Trenton Firefighters in obtaining a total funding of $42,576,950 in grants, and helped to prevent the City from laying off of nearly one-third of fire department members.

    Additionally, five entry-level positions will be funded to offset expected retirements. This new FY2014 SAFER grant is in addition to the FY2012 grant of $14.9 million to save 55 jobs and provided funding for nine entry level positions, and $13.6 million FY2010 SAFER grant Smith helped obtain to save 61 jobs.

    Grant committee members Gribbin, Robotin, and Willever expressed “gratitude to Rep. Chris Smith and his entire office, both locally and in Washington D.C., for their tireless efforts and support of this grant.” “The work of the Trenton Fire Department is vital to the protection of city residents and infrastructure as well as the state's capital complex," said Gribbin. "Representative Smith's continued efforts make the success of this highly trained department possible.”

    Smith began working on the latest grant in 2014, meeting with Gribbin and Willever in 2014 and 2015. He wrote a letter to FEMA in May 2015. Previously, he wrote a letter to the FEMA grant director in 2012 detailing the city’s great need. When necessary, Congressman also spoke with the key decision-makers and top grant officials at FEMA, working closely with then-Special Operations Chief John Gribbin. He sent a letter to FEMA arguing the city’s case, focusing on the budgetary woes the Garden State’s capital was facing and public safety. In December 2010, Smith helped obtain a waiver for the City after it inadvertently became ineligible for the grant when it postponed planned layoffs until after the New Year.

    The layoff plan would have had a devastating impact on public safety, including closing four companies and phasing-out the city’s rescue and hazardous materials team. Personnel would have been gutted as well, with demotions of two battalion chiefs to captains, 18 captains to privates, and elimination of 59 privates.

    The funding comes through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). It is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration.

    SAFER grants provide assistance to fire departments to help provide communities with adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. The SAFER program supports several critical activities, such as the rehiring of laid-off firefighters, the retention of firefighters facing layoffs, the hiring of new firefighters, and recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.  Grants are used to pay the salaries and benefits of firefighters hired with grant funds over the two-year award performance period.

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