Rincon Valley Fire's biggest-ever grant award will help hire six new firefighters

VAIL, Ariz. (KGUN) — Rincon Valley Fire District is getting it's biggest federal grant award ever: close to $1.3 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will help RVFD hire six more recruits.

For years, KGUN9 has followed local fire department's strategies to keep more workers and recruit fresh talent. This week, Good Morning Tucson caught up with RVFD fire chief Jim Tucker to talk about what this kind of financial support means.

Tucker laid out one specific scenario, where he sees these new hires making an immediate impact for their coworkers and the growing community in Vail.

"Our station 292, which is on the south side of the railroad tracks, has to respond to the north side," Tucker said. "This is going to be huge for us, so we'll be able to cut down some of those response times by having more units on the north side of the track."

In a statement sent to KGUN9 confirming the grant award, Tucker called the funding a "game changer." "We look forward to putting these resources into action for the benefit of our community," Tucker said.

Practically speaking, Tucker said, once the six new crew members are fully trained, he and other RVFD leaders can put a team of four on each fire engine.

Tucker said the $1,295,569 million grant will cover the new firefighters' salaries for three years. After that, he said, it would fall on RVFD's board of directors to make sure they can keep crews on the payroll.

Looking at the future, Tucker also says RVFD will apply for more grant funding from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. In theory, a future award could help Rincon Valley fire build a third fire station in a few years' time.