Pasco to seek federal grant to train volunteer firefighters

Pasco Fire Rescue plans to apply for a $400,000 federal grant to train, certify and outfit 50 volunteer firefighters.

Training Chief Shawn Whited told the newspaper the department has about 200 volunteer firefighters who serve stations from Port Richey to Lacoochee. Many are retired firefighters who want to keep up their certifications, and others are aspiring firefighters.

If Pasco get the Staffing of Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, it would pay training, bunker gear and health examinations for those volunteers, according to the Times.

Pasco County received a $2.3 million SAFER grant in 2012, which allowed the department to hire 18 full-time firefighters.