AMHERST — A three-year plan to increase staffing for the Amherst Fire Department, bringing the department to as many as 55 full-time members by fiscal 2029, is being supported with an $888,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
As part of $14.7 million in grant funding for fire departments and other first responder organizations across the state, the federal agency in late September announced the grant, part of a three-year funding program that will help Amherst bring on six new firefighter-paramedics.
While the funding helps with the immediate personnel costs, as well as recruitment and retention, the town will eventually be responsible for picking up the full salaries and benefits of the positions on a permanent basis, once the federal money is expended.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren note that the grant will accelerate the current staffing plan and would meet many of the department’s goals for staffing and safety.
Previously, the multiyear plan for increasing staffing, unveiled by officials last spring, would have three firefighters hired in fiscal 2028 and two more in fiscal 2029. Once complete, the town can fully staff three ambulances and one fire truck at all times.
In this year’s budget, the town is already bringing on four new firefighters, filling two vacancies, including one position that had been frozen the previous year. These firefighters were training over the summer, followed by assignments to shifts once this was complete.
Bockelman and Finance Director Sean Mangano were able to create a budget accommodating these new positions by drawing $200,000 from the ambulance fund, rather than increasing the operating budget.
Amherst also received a $52,000 FEMA grant that will be used to buy firefighting nozzles. The town has to provide a 10% match for this, Stromgren said, which is already in the department budget.
The new nozzles replace ones that are mostly 15 to 20 years old and will be attached to previously upgraded hoses. The FEMA grant also means the department can remove this request from the town’s capital program.
Other communities land grants
Other area communities also benefited from the funding.
Southampton is getting nearly $213,000 for firefighter breathing apparatus, while Easthampton received more than $190,000 for cardiac monitors. These cardiac monitors will provide firefighters and paramedics with modern diagnostic and monitoring capabilities essential to the assessment and treatment of patients experiencing serious medical emergencies.
The federal money coming to the state and the local departments is from fiscal 2025 fire grant programs, which in addition to the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program are the the Assistance to Firefighters Grants and the Fire Prevention and Safety grant program.
