Grant Approved To Bring More Firefighters To Brookfield

BROOKFIELD, WI—The City of Brookfield Common Council approved on Tuesday a nearly $3 million grant aimed at providing resources for the government and restoring staffing for the fire department. The program—Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response—is sponsored by FEMA.

The council voted -5 to approve the funding.

The City of Brookfield Fire Department applied for the program, in part, to hire additional firefighting staff to increase compliance with National Fire Prevention Association guidelines for the number of firefighters available on an active fire scene, according to online city documents.

The grant awards the city $2,994,000 over three years to allow the hiring of nine additional firefighters/paramedics. The added staff will allow the fire department to add an additional person per day per fire station.

The City of Brookfield was the only municipality in the State of Wisconsin to be awarded this grant in 2021and it was submitted by Charlie Myers, Brookfield’s former fire chief.

The city hasn't created new positions since 1995, according to online city documents.

To claim the amount awarded under the grant, the city must hire additional firefighters, with projected start dates in February 2022 and retain those staff members throughout the term of the grant (called the performance period) until February 2025. The city cannot hire new fire department staff with the SAFER grant funds and then allow currently filled positions to remain vacant via attrition, the documents said.

Alderman Mike Hallquist told Patch, “As my colleague, Alderman Gary Mahkorn pointed out last night, this is also a great opportunity to leverage the experience of our more senior firefighters to train a new class of recruits. I additionally shared his concerns that Brookfield has continued to receive less mutual aid from its neighbors than it has provided. As per our Chief, Brookfield provided aid 155 times and received aid 71 times in 2020, however, in 2018, Brookfield provided aid 224 times and received aid 189 times. As mutual aid decreases, the city will need to maintain an adequate number of staff to service Brookfield residents.”