The Windsor Fire Protection District has been awarded a $458,000 grant that it plans to use to beef up staffing using apprentice firefighters.
The grant will allow the department to schedule at least one extra firefighter at each of its two stations around the clock.
"It is exciting," Fire Chief Doug Williams said. "Staffing demands for this area are still way above what the area can afford on its own."
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant the fire district received is administered by the Department of Homeland Security.
The apprentices will help supplement two paid firefighters at each station - a captain and engineer - that are on duty now 24 hours, seven days per week.
Apprentice firefighters typically have just completed training and are looking to gain more experience.
They are considered volunteers and are assigned to a specific engine company. On a 12-hour shift, they are eligible for a stipend of $25.
The grant also will cover the costs of pre-employment physicals, uniforms, structure fire gear and protective equipment. Apprentice firefighters who work more than 10 shifts per month are eligible for medical benefits funded though the grant.
The additional income is welcome at a time when property tax revenues have dipped for the fire department, which serves 30,000 residents and handles 2,500 calls annually.
Two years ago, property taxes collected totaled $1,037,000. Last year they declined to $961,000, according to Williams, and are expected to remain flat.
The fire district has additional voter-approved parcel tax revenues that bring its annual budget to approximately $2.7 million.
The department has reduced costs through attrition and curtailing administrative expenses since it was put under the umbrella of the Central Fire Authority, a joint powers agency that also oversees the Rincon Valley Fire Protection District.
One fire chief - Williams - and two subordinates now oversee both departments, which used to have two chiefs and four subordinate chiefs.
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