COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The College Station Fire Department has been awarded a multi-million dollar grant to fully staff a seventh fire station for multiple years.
The $3.87 million federal grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program will allow the city to staff 12 firefighters at the fire department's seventh station in town, which was approved by voters as part of the 2022 bond election. It is the largest federal grant ever received by CSFD and will fully fund firefighters' salaries and benefits through a three-year performance period as part of the grant's staffing requirements.
“We are excited to be awarded the SAFER grant as a mechanism to begin to build the staffing of the department as we move toward adding Station 7," said CSFD Fire Chief Richard Mann in a news release announcing the grant. “The SAFER program allows us a critical transition period to use federal funding to meet the fire service staffing needs.”
The new station will be located at 2981 Greens Prairie Road and construction will start in early 2025, with work expected to be finished by fall of the following year. CSFD will be recruiting members in the fall and making hires in the spring to meet the grant requirements. Fully certified, partially certified, and non-certified candidates will have their applications considered for the positions.