Wausau Pilot & Review
The City Council on Tuesday approved a measure that would allow the Wausau Fire Department funding to hire nine additional firefighters with a $3.1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
The funding, obtained through a highly competitive grant process, will fully fund the nine hires for three years. The grant completes the department’s plan to add 12 firefighter/paramedics to the department roster. The Council in June approved hiring three staff members.
The FEMA Staffing for Effective Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help increase or maintain the number of trained, front-line firefighters available in their communities. The grant aims to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Agency.
Just three Wisconsin communities received the funding.
The Council had approved the department to apply for the SAFER Grant in January. The department was aided by Firefighters Local 415, which submitted the completed grant for peer review by the International Association of Firefighters grant team. In addition, Governor Tony Evers and Congressman Tom Tiffany sent letters of support directly to FEMA.
The addition of the 12 firefighters is the first staffing increase in Wausau Fire since 1970. Over the last 52 years, the department’s call volume emergency response capabilities have grown enormously, and staffing was desperately needed to continue to meet the demand for services.
In response to the news Chief Robert Barteck stated, “This is a historic commitment to increase firefighter/paramedic staffing that will make our community and those sworn to serve it safer and better prepared to keep up with the demand for emergency services.”
“Since day one in office, I have heard from our fire team that they are responding to more calls than ever and need more support,” Mayor Katie Rosenberg said. “I am thrilled that Chief Barteck took this challenge head-on and found a way for the City of Wausau to grow our public safety efforts with this multi-million-dollar grant. This will be transformational for the Fire Department, the City of Wausau, and our entire region.”
The Wausau Fire Department staffing will increase from 62 full-time employees to 74 once hiring is complete. The department will immediately begin recruiting firefighter candidates to fill the newly created positions.
