(ROUND ROCK, TX)- On Friday July 22, 2016, Hutto Fire Rescue/Williamson County Emergency Services District #3 (Hutto Fire Rescue) received word from the office of U.S. Representative John R. Carter (R-TX-31) that they would be receiving a federal grant for firefighter staffing. This grant, known as the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) program, will provide six (6) additional firefighters to Hutto Fire Rescue. This SAFER grant is for a two (2) year time period. The purpose of SAFER Grants is to provide funding directly to fire departments and national, state, local, or tribal organizations to assist them in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards. It enables fire departments to attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments. The eligible expenses in the hiring of firefighters for the SAFER grant includes the total salary and associated benefits (actual payroll expenses) costs for each funded position.

“I am so proud to assist the Hutto Fire Rescue in being awarded this grant,” said Rep. Carter. “The SAFER grants are imperative to smaller and growing departments to fill the needs of their communities. This grant will create jobs, boost the Hutto economy, and increase the safety of the entire Hutto community.”

According to Hutto Fire Chief Scott Kerwood “This grantwill enable us to increase our daily staffing in order to better protect the citizens of the Hutto Community. We are in a very rapidly expanding part of Texas. Williamson County in general, and Hutto in particular are growing extremely fast. This growth continues to put an increased demand on our services, but this SAFER grant will help us better meet these needs. We are extremely grateful to Congressman Carter and his team for the help they provided us in getting this grant. We look forward to the work ahead of us to get people hired and on the job so we can continue to increase the level of service that we provide to our citizens.” Hutto was recently identified as the 7^th fastest growing small city in the United States. Records show that Hutto grew 53% from 2010 to 2014.

For more information on SAFER please go to https://www.fema.gov/staffing-adequate-fire-emergency-response-grants.

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