By Fawn Porter/Staff Writer

A federal grant topping $310,000 could ignite the hiring of three new firefighters by the first of the year if City Council members give their blessing to the deal.

Fire Chief Carl Hickman, who authored a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant through the Department of Homeland Security, said Mustang is the only community in Oklahoma to receive the grant under the program — and it’s the largest award given for this type of application.

Notified of the grant Monday, Hickman said the next step is to present it to Council for approval before formulating any subsequent funding plans.

The grant provides about $310,000 in federal funding over five years, and the city is responsible for over $470,000 over the same time period, which will provide three EMT-basic firefighters for the department — all being hired at the same time to bring department staffing levels to adequate, Hickman said.

And while the grant does impose a financial impact on the city, it’s nothing officials weren’t aware of, City Manager David Cockrell said.

In a five-year fire department growth plan, Hickman expressed a need for additional firefighters, and management had tentatively planned to hire three firefighters incrementally over the next five years, Cockrell said.

“(Hickman) wasn’t asking for anything (in the five-year plan) staff didn’t already know was needed,” Cockrell said. “What this grant provides … is it frees up funds to be used in a manner directly benefiting the residents of Mustang, with residents seeing a direct and immediate result.”

Cockrell said staff was holding off on developing a funding plan until they receive direction from the City Council.

The city manager said it is similar to how Mustang built its police department, using grant funding through the Cops Fast program, which provided three-year grants for staffing and where the city phased in six new officers using the award money and city funds until it built its force.

He added, however, that with a self-funded plan, sans grant monies, the city wouldn’t be able to hire the firefighters at the same time.

And the need for additional firefighters, Hickman said, is critical to Mustang’s public safety.

“We are running over 1,500 calls a year,” Hickman said. “And a lot of that is doubling up on calls (multiple calls coming in at the same time), so staffing is an issue.”

The chief said federal law requires what’s called “two on, two off” staffing of house fires, which means “having people outside to rescue the rescuers.”

There needs to be a two-person team on the outside “in case anything happens” before a two-person team can enter the structure,” Hickman said.

Mustang’s fire department needs to be staffed at a level, he said, where this is possible.

And while Mustang’s firehouse is staffed, ideally, by four people minimally for a shift, Cockrell said sometimes “you can’t always keep four people there.”

The city is still required to allow time off for vacations, illness and training, so sometimes when staff is running low, shifts run low, he said.

And what that translates into is this: Fire department staff may be running two overlapping emergency calls at one time, which means a resident with a heart problem on the west side of town may have two firefighters respond, while someone on the east side of town may only have one.

“We realized we needed to grow our department,” Cockrell said, “We need to staff shifts with five people.”

And, Cockrell and Hickman said, the grant opens the doors for the city to provide firefighters in a less expensive, more economical way — and at a faster pace.

What it boils down to, they said, is “we get them (firefighters) all now, three of them, for two years — for free.”