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Grant brings fire department 12 jobs, ladder company

By Richard Gould | Hickory Daily Record

Published: July 3, 2009

HICKORY - The Hickory Fire Department recently hired 12 new firefighters and is establishing a second ladder company.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry brought the $1,212,224 check that made it all possible to Hickory's Earl G. Moser Fire Station.

The money is from a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant awarded to the department in January.

"The $1.2 million SAFER grant is the largest grant that any agency in the 10th Congressional District has received since I have been the representative of the 10th District," McHenry said. "That says a lot about the city of Hickory and the fire department that worked diligently on the grant and obviously showed the need and importance of having a second ladder company in Hickory."

The ladder company will be composed of 12 firefighters selected from among the department's trained staff. The new recruits will fill the vacancies left behind from the inter-departmental shifts.

"The training for the new recruits began July 1, and will continue until Nov. 18," said Hickory Deputy Fire Chief George Byers. "The summer 2009 recruit class will provide the 12 SAFER grant recruits along with the replacement of five other firefighters who have recently retired. The recruits will be assigned to their respective shifts after their graduation on Nov. 18 with the second ladder company being activated within that week in November."

At the check presentation ceremony, Hickory Mayor Pro Tem Z. Ann Hoyle addressed those in attendance and expressed her appreciation to Hickory's firefighters for their ongoing dedication to keeping Hickory's residents safe.

"This partnership with the federal government enables us to continue to enhance fire protection for our citizens and also helps us control the costs to the taxpayers of the city of Hickory," she said. "We are very proud that our safety record has been good and we have gone more than 14 years with no fire deaths. We are also very proud of all of our firefighters who put their lives on the line each day to protect the more than 40,000 citizens in our All-America city."