December 11, 2023
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
A $22.4 million FEMA grant will fund the reopening of three Philadelphia Fire Department stations: Engine 6 in Fishtown, Ladder 1 in Francisville and Ladder 11 in South Philly.
A trio of Philadelphia fire stations that closed during the Great Recession will reopen thanks to a $22.4 million federal grant, officials announced Monday.
President Joe Biden outlined the terms of the funding, which was initially reported in September, at the Ladder 1 firehouse in Francisville. The money will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and will pay the salaries and benefits of 72 firefighters for three years. The boost in staffing will allow Ladder 1, Engine 6 in Fishtown and Ladder 11 in South Philly to reopen. All three stations shuttered in 2009.
"The overwhelming human instinct is to run away from danger," Biden said during trip to Philadelphia. "I think the most frightening thing anybody can do is run into a fire. Almost anything else is less consequential. But when the bell rings, you all run towards it. You put your gear on and you jump in the truck and you do what you got to do. Because being a firefighter isn't just what you do, it's who you are.
"The only thing that protects firefighters is more firefighters."
Today, I'm delivering remarks as Philadelphia receives a $22.4 million SAFER Grant award that will fund firefighters’ salary and benefits. https://t.co/sZ60S7LavM
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 11, 2023
Biden noted that Ladder 1, which officially returned to service Monday, would've been the closest truck to the fire in Farimount on Jan. 5, 2022, that killed 12 people. The blaze originated on the top floor of a rowhome on the 800 block of North 23rd Street, spreading across the building's two units and ultimately killing three women and nine children. The tragedy was also referenced by Gov. Josh Shapiro and Mayor Jim Kenney, who delivered remarks ahead of Biden's speech.
"In eight years as mayor, that was one of the saddest days that I've experienced," Kenney said. "To watch all these brave firefighters try to save those kids and (they) couldn't do it because of the intensity of the smoke and the fire. On the steps, I could see tears coming down their eyes."
The FEMA grant will be dispensed through the agency's Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response program, which provides funding to hire, rehire and retain fire department personnel. Another SAFER grant already restored four stations in Philadelphia in 2019: Engine 1 in South Philly, Engine 8 in Old City, Engine 14 in Frankford and Engine 39 in Roxborough.
To date, the SAFER program has awarded roughly $5.2 billion to eligible fire companies and academies in the U.S.
All three Philly fire stations set to reopen were more than a century old when they closed. According to the Fireman's Hall Museum, Ladder 1 and Engine 6 opened in 1871, while Ladder 11 was founded in 1901.
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