The Bedford Township Fire Department is strictly volunteer no more.
The township board on Tuesday unanimously approved the acceptance of a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant of $536,071 to hire four full-time firefighters for three years.
The grant will account for 75 percent of the annual cost of these employees’ salaries and the remaining cost will be covered by the department’s existing millage.
“It’s no secret, probably not just in our community but in most communities, that volunteer firefighting is very difficult,” said fire chief Adam Massingill. “It’s a lot of hours, it’s a lot of time expected out of our members. As we looked into the future and looked into the options to supplement our volunteer fire department, we opted to apply for this grant.”
Massingill said the grant will allow the department to staff 24 hours a day, which will improve response times. Currently the stations are staffed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.