Grant money to help resolve Roanoke County Fire Rescue staffing issues

The department will hire 11 firefighters over next 3 years

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – Roanoke County Fire Rescue now has the funding needed to fix staffing issues it's been battling for years.

The department was awarded more than $1 million in grant money from the Department of Homeland Security. That will allow it to hire 11 firefighters over the next three years.

"Currently we are understaffed and we have been understaffed for many many years. And adding this additional staff will make sure that we have trucks that don't go out of service," Roanoke County Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Simon said.

"Having these resources to be able to allow for that staffing is important for us to be able to deliver the services that the citizens need,” Roanoke County Administrator Tom Gates said.

New recruits start training in January. They'll be assigned to stations in May.


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