For a change, Fire Chief Rick Balentine awoke to some good early-morning news. Early Wednesday, Balentine learned the Aspen Protection Fire District had been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 100% of which will be used for recruitment and retention of eight volunteer firefighters annually.
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant — which comes through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — is retroactive to 2019 and continues through 2023; it will cover health insurance, the firefighters’ length of service award plan and all of their equipment needs, Balentine said.
“This helps us with keeping strong volunteer forces in the future,” he said.
The district credits Jan Schubert, who is in charge of the accounting and payroll, in landing the grant. Schubert said it will be used by “about eight firefighters every year for the next four years.”