The fire department was awarded the grant in September by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through its competitive program known as SAFER – Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response.
The Philadelphia Fire Department says it will use the funds to hire, train and pay 72 firefighters and EMTs for three years. After the three years, the personnel costs are to be covered by the City of Philadelphia. "The Fire Department responds at a moment’s notice to all types of emergencies -- from house fires and gas leaks to car accidents, medical calls and building collapses," said Mayor Jim Kenney. "Putting these companies back in service is the right thing to do for our residents, visitors and businesses."
Engine 6 , Ladder 1 and Ladder 11 were among seven companies deactivated on January 5, 2009 during the recession. According to theThe other four companies closed in 2009 – Engine 1 , Engine 8 , Engine 14 and Engine 39 – wereThe Philadelphia Fire Department responded to about 880 emergency incidents per day in 2023, for an annual total of nearly 53,000 fire incidents and more than 268,000 EMS incidents.