Riverside Fire Chief Daniel Stitzel said he has made conditional offers to three people. The three new hires would start some time in early February. The grant stipulates that the firefighters hired through the grant start working by March 8.
RELATED: Riverside will hire 3 more firefighters with SAFER grant
The grant brings in $214,000 for the firefighters’ wages and benefits over the next two years. The third year the grant will bring in about $100,000. The SAFER grant covers 75% of the salary of the new firefighters in the first two years and 35% of their salaries in the third year.
The city is not obligated to keep the three new positions after the third year ends, but Stitzel said he wants to keep them “forever.”
“It’s certainly the city’s intent to keep them on after the third year,” Stitzel said. “I’m pretty confident they’re going to stay on.”
Stitzel hopes to continue expanding the fire department outside of the SAFER grant. One setback the department currently faces, Stitzel said, is the loss of part-time firefighters.
“Nationally and regionally, there is a shortage of first responders,” he said.
Stitzel compared the shortage to the shortage of people wanting to go into the skilled trades. Many people can’t take time off of work to get the training necessary to become a first responder, he said.
“There’s just not a lot of people wanting to get into the field,” Stitzel said. “There’s been a change in society. A lot of departments are struggling with it.”
About the Author
