SCOTIA — Facing an increase in call volume and a shortage of staff, the Scotia Fire Department is hoping to secure a federal grant to hire six additional firefighters.
The Village Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the department to pursue a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant. The grants, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provide direct funding to fire agencies for the purposes of maintaining adequate staffing.
“We’ve had countless meetings and discussions about this,” said Trustee Keith Brown.
Fire Chief David Wood said in an interview following the meeting that the department is planning to hire a grant writer to prepare an application ahead of what is anticipated to be a February filing period.
SAFER grants vary, but the department is hoping to secure enough to fully fund six positions, including benefits, over a three-year period. The application is contingent on the department being able to fund the positions following the three-year period.
Wood said the department is exploring a number of options to maintain the staffing should the grant be approved. The starting salary for a new firefighter is $47,303.
The Scotia Fire Department is made up of a combination of volunteer and career staff. But the number of volunteers has dwindled in recent years, an issue departments across the state are experiencing.
“It’s been oncoming for probably 15, 20 years,” Wood said. “It’s just an unfortunate decline in volunteers, period, not just the village of Scotia. All the departments are suffering.”
The Scotia department has 14 career staff, but currently has one vacancy and another member is expected to retire in the coming months, according to the fire chief.
The department maintains a staffing of four firefighters during the day and three at night, but Wood said the six additional positions would allow him to increase daytime staffing to five and four at night.
“Six, I know, sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t when you have four shifts and you’re working 24 hours a day,” he said.
Wood’s hope to increase staffing comes as the department faces increased call volume, including mutual aid calls that the chief said can be directly attributed to inadequate staffing levels at neighboring departments.
The Scotia Fire Department responded to 1,960 incidents last year, a 5% increase compared to 2022 and a 26% increase over the last five years, according to data provided by Wood. The department received 296 calls for mutual aid last year — a 56% increase from 2022.
To meet the demand and fill the staffing gaps, Wood said the department has been working overtime, something Wood said has taken a toll on the department.
“We’re always looking out for what’s best for the taxpayers, but I got to keep my guys safe, too,” he said.
This is not the first time the Scotia Fire Department has applied for a SAFER grant. The department received $279,474 under the program back in 2018.