MANALAPAN – The Gordons Corner Fire Company will receive a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) federal grant to help recruit and retain volunteers, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) has announced.
The Gordons Corner Fire Company was established in 1962. The volunteers serve the residents of Manalapan’s Fire District No. 1. The fire company has its headquarters on Tennent Road in a building that was constructed in 1967. A satellite firehouse was constructed on Pease Road in 1976, according to a press release from Smith’s office.
“The Gordons Corner Fire Company is an all-volunteer fire company that very much depends on keeping its current firefighters to protect the community, as well as attracting a new generation of volunteers,” Smith said.
“This $48,876 grant comes from the SAFER grant program, which Congress created to do just that: help communities to be safer by recruiting and retaining firefighters.
“Our all-volunteer fire companies have a challenge to find residents with the time and willingness to complete the required training to serve their communities.
“This grant will help them tackle that challenge and foster a new generation of volunteers. Volunteer firefighters fill a critical need of public service. They are both heroes and dedicated members of the community who respond to the call to serve,” Smith said.
The Operations and Safety Grant comes from the Department of Homeland Security’s Fiscal Year 2019 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program’s SAFER program, according to the press release.
The grant is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency in cooperation with the U.S. Fire Administration. The SAFER program operates a recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters program, according to the press release.
“We plan to use this grant to keep our retention growing and our roster of qualified firefighters to better serve the residents of Manalapan,” Gordons Corner Fire Company Chief Rob DiTota said.
DiTota said the grant will fund efforts to reach out to the community through social media and other avenues to attract new members to the fire company.