Late last year the Parma Fire Department was notified it was the recipient of a $771,396 award from the Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention and Resilience Program.
Parma Fire Chief Michael Lasky said the timing of the grant was perfect considering his department was in the process of hiring new firefighters with a test scheduled for Oct. 13.
“We normally give a test every year,” Lasky said. “Then we got word we were awarded the grant, which kicked our hiring process in gear. It was all coming together. “One of the biggest things was most grants we receive there’s a match. This one had no match. And you get the money starting Jan. 1 so, of course, we wanted to hire these guys as soon as possible. We got them going. They were hired on Jan. 3.”
Earlier this month the city swore in eight new cadets as probationary firefighters.