Wildwood Fire Department to Receive SAFER Grant

WILDWOOD — The City of Wildwood will receive nearly half a million dollars in federal funding to recruit, train and retain firefighters. The $481,984 federal grant was awarded through the Department of Homeland Security’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program.
“This is certainly welcome news for the City of Wildwood Fire Department. The grant awarded will allow the department to add additional fireman to help combat the ongoing threats they face every day,” said Congressman Frank LoBiondo. Wildwood Mayor Ernie Trioano said “This is another example of Frank watching out for the residents and visitors to Wildwood and ensuring safety and security resources are available.”
Wildwood Fire Chief Daniel Speigel stated, “This grant has been sought after 7 times over 12 years. We have taken several initiatives in providing adequate staffing levels over that time period and this will help resolve our issues. We are happy that even at the federal level they recognized we needed help in our staffing of firefighters. We certainly wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of our Commissioner of Public Safety Anthony Leonetti.”
City of Wildwood Firefighters are all trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) providing ambulance service to the city, fire inspectors conducting state Uniform Fire Code inspections, trained in water rescue covering the city’s beaches during periods when lifeguards are not present on the beach and handle all technical rescue emergencies including confined space, high-angle rope, surface ice rescue, structural collapse and hazardous materials responses.