The city has been awarded a $14.9 million FEMA grant that will save the jobs of 55 firefighters and provide funding to hire nine more, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith announced today.

    The Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant will fund the jobs for the next two years, saving the firefighters from impending layoffs, Smith said. The department will also hire hire nine entry-level firefighters to make up for expected retirements.

    “This FEMA grant will save 55 Trenton firefighters facing layoffs in January, and help maintain staffing levels needed to protect the city residents and the state capital,” Smith said. “The residents of Trenton will be safer because of this grant and 55 firefighters and their families can tear up the pink slips that may already be in the mail or that they may have received recently.”

    Two years ago, Smith (R-Robbinsville) helped secure a $13.6 million SAFER grant, which was used to fund 61 firefighter jobs and stave off layoffs.

    Fire Director Qareeb Bashir had painted a grim picture when asked what the cash-strapped city would do if the FEMA grant did not come through.

    "We'd be laying off approximately 60 firefighters," he told City Council members at a budget hearing last month. "Which would also mean we would close at least three firehouses. Which means this city would be devastated. I'm just telling you that straight out."

    Trenton has already run out of money from the last SAFER grant, leaving the city on the hook for roughly $1.6 million in salaries and benefits previously paid by FEMA. It is unclear whether the city had already started sending out layoff notices before today's grant announcement.

    Smith said he was relieved to see the grant awarded before the holidays, sparing firefighters the prospect of starting the new year with layoffs on the horizon.

    “No one ever wants to get pink slips, but with Christmas and New Year’s coming, this was an especially bad time,” he said. “I’m happy for the families and the city.”

This article in its entirety can be found at the Times of Trenton website at:
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012/12/trenton_receives_149_million_f.html