The Wichita City Council approved three plans on Tuesday that will help the city's fire department provide faster response times and better service to its citizens.
The city accepted a $10.273 million ARPA SAFER Grant in October to fund 42 additional positions within the department. It will increase staffing from three fire personnel per apparatus to four, and will also staff two new trucks with four fire personnel each.
The department requested an additional $1 million to cover personnel and training costs incurred prior to the grant period which starts in March. That money will come from ARPA State and Local Recovery Funds, which will reduce the balance of their fire optimization funding.
The department will also acquire one new fire apparatus, thanks to a $1.79 million grant from the federal government. The city's local match is $199,289. Fire Chief Tammy Snow said the order will take some time to be filled, as the turn-around time will be three to four years.
The council also approved a $65 thousand plan to fund new LifePak15 monitor/defibrillator units, which must be replaced by the end of 2024. The majority of the funding comes from the feds and requires a 10 percent local match.
