By Scott Harvey
Commerce – The Commerce Fire Department hopes a recently submitted grant application will allow for more volunteer firefighters.
Fire Chief Brian McNevin requested and was granted approval to apply for the funds last month.
Currently, the department augments the on-duty paid staff with non-compensated personnel through an agreement with the Commerce Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. But over the past several years the participation, when requested, has diminished to a level which now presents a safety risk for those on scene.
It will take nearly a year to learn if CFD has been approved for the grant.
If approved, the first four years of the program will be funded at 100 percent. The fifth year and any subsequent years would come at an estimated annual cost to the City of $40,000, with A&M-Commerce agreeing to fund the remainder of those yearly costs.
The funding is part of a grant through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFER Program.