DEARBORN — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) announced this week the city of Dearborn will receive $3,780,230.16 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program to hire, recruit and retain firefighters.

The SAFER Program awards grants directly to eligible fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to hire new, additional firefighters (or to change the status of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters), to rehire laid off firefighters or to retain firefighters facing layoff, as well as to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.

“Our firefighters work hard day and night, often putting their own lives on the line, to protect our communities,” Dingell said. “It’s critical that fire departments have adequate staffing, resources, training and equipment to keep themselves safe while they keep all of us safe. These FEMA grants will help fire departments hire additional personnel, ensure our firefighters are better prepared when responding to emergencies and help improve safety to prevent fires from starting in the first place.”

“I’m grateful for Representative Dingell’s leadership in helping us secure this grant that will significantly improve our public safety response in the city of Dearborn,” said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.

Dingell also announced seven more grants totaling an additional $1,226,558.07 from FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program and Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grant Program to the cities of Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Flat Rock and Scio Township.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program awards funds to provide critically needed resources that equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operational efficiencies, foster interoperability and support community resilience.

The Fire Prevention and Safety Program awards funds to provide critically needed resources to fire departments and non-profit organizations to carry out fire prevention education and training, fire code enforcement, fire/arson investigation, firefighter safety and health programming, prevention efforts and research and development.