Video - Bera Announces $1.9 Million SAFER Grant For Cosumnes Fire District

Congressman Dr. Ami Bera and Cosumnes Fire Department Chief Mike McLaughlin. | 

September 21, 2017 |  

In a press conference held this afternoon, Congressman Dr. Ami Bera (D - Elk Grove) announced the Cosumnes Fire Department would receive a FEMA grant to hire additional firefighters. 

As part of a $5 million in Homeland Security grants secured by Bera for Sacramento County, the Cosumnes Community Services District will receive a FEMA grant of $1.9 million as part of the the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response or SAFER program. The Cosumnes Fire Department, which is part of the Cosumnes Community Services District provides fire protection for the California communities of Elk Grove and Galt.

According to Bera and CFD Chief Mike McLaughlin, the SAFER grant will provide 75-percent of the funding for eight additional firefighters for the next three years. The eight new hires who are expected to be on staff by March 1, 2018, replace firefighters who were laid-off during the budget cuts the district experienced during the Great Recession. 

The entire announcement by Bera and McLaughlin can be viewed in the video.