Client Success

City of Oakland Receives $7.8 Million Grant for Fire Department

Townsend Public Affairs is proud to announce the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded the City of Oakland a $7.8 million grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. This vital funding will allow the Oakland Fire Department to hire 24 firefighters to address the growing demand for public safety services in the City.

“This highly competitive funding is critical to improving public safety and ensuring 24-hour staff coverage by hiring new and laid-off Oakland firefighters,” said Congress member Barbara Lee. “As Oakland and our nation continue to recover from the greatest economic downturn since the great depression, federal investments in public sector hiring are critical to moving our economy forward.”

Oakland—the eighth largest city in California with a population of approximately 390,000 residents will greatly benefit from the SAFER program seeing as it provides funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities. TPA worked closely with the Mayor, her office, and the Oakland Fire Department to submit the application to ensure it would match the goals and priorities of FEMA. Once submitted, TPA led the efforts to successfully advocate on behalf of the City and was part of the team to secure these much needed funds.

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