ROBBINSVILLE: Council OKs resolutions to accept two firefighter grants

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — The Township Council recently adopted resolutions to accept two federal grants totaling $751,832 that will be used to hire four firefighters and purchase new equipment for the fire engine.
   The first federal grant, known by its acronym SAFER, provides the township with $700,604 to hire four laid-off firefighters and pay their salaries for two years. Robbinsville Fire Director John Archer said that as of Jan. 27 he had received 20 applications from laid-off firefighters from all over New Jersey who are interested in the four positions. The goal is to hire the new firefighters by mid-March, he said.
   There is no local match required in order to receive the federal SAFER grant. However, the township will have to find the means to pay the firefighters’ salaries itself, or secure another grant, at the end of the two-year period if it wants to keep those four firefighters on the payroll.
   Mayor Dave Fried had originally intended to offer the positions to Trenton firefighters who had received layoff notices, but the city received its own SAFER grant recently and those firefighters are no longer going to lose their jobs. Mr. Archer said there is no shortage of qualified applicants, however, because there are laid-off firefighters all over the state.
   The Robbinsville fire department currently has eight active volunteers and 14 paid men who are regularly assigned to firefighting duties. The SAFER grant will enable the department to increase staffing levels so there are four paid firefighters on the engine responding to fires, instead of three.
   The second grant of $51,228 requires a 5 percent local match of $2,696 and will be used to purchase new lengths of hose for the fire engine.
   The Township Council voted at its Jan. 27 meeting to adopt resolutions authorizing the acceptance of both grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Capt. Daniel Schaffener wrote the successful applications for the Robbinsville Division of Fire.