The Peoria Fire Department has been awarded more than $3 million in federal funding to cover costs of adding more firefighters, boosting its emergency response capabilities.
The money comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s [FEMA] fiscal year 2024 allocation through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response [SAFER] grant program.
“Essentially it’s going to give us the ability to hire 11 more firefighters and have four-person truck companies,” said Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger, pointing out that the additional hires will bring the department’s total number of fire suppression personnel to more than 180.
“So every single day, there will be at least 60 firefighters working – every day.”
Sollberger said the department learned it was chosen for the grant funding in August.
“We had to do internal processes to make sure that we could continue to fund the grant, because it has its matching mechanisms and things like that,” said Sollberger. “So we had to work with the city manager and the city council for them to accept the grant, because it’s one thing to apply but then it’s another for the municipality to accept it.”
The fire chief said this latest grant award comes after the department previously received SAFER dollars in 2021 that were used to reinstate Engine 2.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, touted Peoria’s grant award as ensuring a faster and more effective emergency response for the community.
“Our firefighters are essential to the safety of Peoria families,” Sorensen said in a news release. “This grant will help the city recruit and retain the personnel needed to keep our community safe.”
Peoria City Council member Mike Vespa celebrated the grant funding in a social media post, saying it will alleviate almost $2 million the city budgeted for fire department overtime.
“While our highly trained firefighters can handle the overtime, we shouldn't be asking so much of them and their families if we can help it,” said Vespa.
