CHARLOTTESVILLE (WINA) – Albemarle County will have 30 new firefighters starting training early 2024 thanks to a $7.1-million “SAFER” grant from FEMA. ACFR Chief of Staff Alyssa Mezzoni — who began putting the data together early last year for this competitive grant — says these new personnel will significantly add to the 137 field personnel now employed. She says they’ll hire 30 out of the candidates accumulated through a month of active recruiting in August, and they’ll begin training in early 2024.

14 of the 30 grant-funded personnel, upon completion of training, will be used to implement 24/7 coverage in the southern portion of the county. 16 will staff a ladder truck home-based in the Monticello Station. She says the ladder truck staffing is significant because there right now is no dedicated ladder truck staffing in the county. Right now, staff can take a ladder truck or an engine to a scene, but they cannot take both. This unit will be staffed with specially trained personnel to address more complex incidents that arise in our community including water and technical rescues, and will allow ACFR to respond “quickly and efficiently to intricate incidents throughout the county.