Safer Grant Amendment

On August 6^th we learned that the Grant Review Board approved our request to amend the 2010 Safer Grant. This grant was originally awarded to us to pay for the cost of a recruiter, for recruitment of new volunteers, to develop a comprehensive retention plan and to build a marketing program to support it. There were some funds in the grant that were not being fully utilized so the amendment was proposed to allow us to modify how we spent the awarded funds and redirect those to new strategies.
The newly allocated money will be used for the following purposes.

• Gas reimbursement for volunteers. When our volunteers respond to a call, there is always an incurred cost associated. Depending on the distance that some of our responders have, that cost may be higher for some. In Oregon, the average cost of 1 gallon of fuel is currently $3.85. to help offset the cost of fuel, we will be awarding a $2.00 incentive per call run by our volunteers. As this reimbursement may be minimal, we are hoping that it will help promote response and help our responders offset the rising costs of fuel and vehicle maintenance.
• In 2012 we acquired a solar electronic readerboard for recruitment purposes. The readerboard is a 2005 model and had an outdated computer which runs the system. We requested funds to replace the current computer with a modern version which allows us to change the message on the board remotely, check diagnostics, locate the board if it should be stolen, and monitor power levels so that we can be assured that it’s operating and will continue to do so without physically monitoring the system.
• We were able to allocate money to acquire 10 new sets of turnouts for incoming volunteers. This is an addition to the 10 sets awarded on a yearly basis. Providing new, fitted turnouts for our firefighters ensures they are given the safest, most modern equipment so they can perform their duties safely and to the best of their capacity.
• We will be purchasing roster boards for each station. These roster boards will be hand made and will have a picture of each respective member. These will replace old roster boards which have all disappeared over the years from extreme use and wear.
• The last benefit will be a recruitment video professionally produced by a media company. The recruitment video will be used to help provide branding to the district, promote volunteering and to help explain what being a member of our fire department means, and explain in better detail what we do.

We are excited to move forward with these projects and progress is already in the works. We look forward to using these funds to recruit and retain our volunteers and find the best people to join our fire family.