Staffing for adequate fire and emergency response (SAFER)

The City of Dunedin was awarded a $3,117,348 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on March 2, 2025. The SAFER Grant Program (CFDA 97.083) provides funding to local fire departments to enhance their staffing and deployment capabilities to ensure adequate fire and emergency response protection for communities.

This SAFER grant award will enable the City of Dunedin to strengthen its fire department staffing over the three-year project period from March 2025 to March 2028. The grant funding will support the hiring of new firefighters and the recruitment/retention of volunteer firefighters to bolster the city's emergency response capacity. As a U.S. local government entity, the City of Dunedin has an established history of receiving federal grants, particularly from FEMA, to support emergency management, infrastructure resilience, and community safety initiatives.