In June, our office awarded nearly $6 million in grants to the Oregon fire service to boost staffing capacity through the summer. We’ve been sharing stories from the fire service on the impact these grants have had.
Last week, firefighters in Benton County responded to an 18-acre fire in the Blodgett Fire District. Because of the 2022 Wildfire Season Staffing Grant, Corvallis Fire was able to send a 3,000-gallon tender.
“This staffed tender responded to the fire on the initial alarm and supplied water to several different agencies on the fire. Having this tender staffed with grant funds not only aided at the fire, but allowed us to keep one of our Type 1 engines in service here in Corvallis during a very busy afternoon for the Corvallis Fire Department. Had we not had the grant funding, we either would not have been able to send a tender to the fire or would not have been able to continue to provide services to our community. I believe this incident shows the value of the staffing grant and how it makes the communities in our state safer. Thank you to Chief Ruiz-Temple, our elected officials, and everyone in the OSFM office for making this grant happen.” – Corvallis Fire Chief Ben Janes
We are thrilled to see the impact these funds are having in communities across the state. If you are interested in learning more about the 2022 Wildfire Season Staffing Grant, we’ve posted details on our website. A little bit about the grant, local fire agencies were able to apply for up to $35,000 in one-time funding to support additional staffing capacity through the summer.