Phoenix Fire receives $8M federal grant to keep staff on job

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Fire Department has been awarded an $8 million federal grant that will be used to pay salary and benefits of 42 firefighters for the next two years.

Nearly 100 firefighters have been hired through Staffing For Adequate Fire & Emergency Response funding. Without the FEMA funding, Phoenix Fire said the department would have been forced to pull emergency units out of operation. Last year the department responded to almost 175,000 emergency incidents.