The City of Peoria has been awarded a grant from the Department of Homeland Security for $1,558,107 that can be used to hire nine new firefighters. According to the council communication, “The grant covers both salary and benefits for the firefighters” for two years. The council will vote on accepting the grant at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The fire department applied for the grant through the Staffing For Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants program, which “was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations in order to help them increase the number of trained, ‘front line’ firefighters available in their communities.”