Calaveras County Fire Chiefs Association Is Awarded a $1.88 Million Grant To Recruit New Volunteer Firefighters

CALAVERAS COUNTY, California – Throughout Calaveras County, citizens are at risk because of the lack of volunteer firefighters to adequately protect people and property from fire and fire–related hazards. As call volume increases, more departments depend on volunteer firefighters. Calaveras County’s 11 departments serve a rural area of 45,578 people and provide fire protection and rescue service to 1,020 square miles of rural area. Our 11 volunteer agencies respond to structure fires, wild land fires, medical emergencies, water rescue, technical rope rescue, hazardous materials spills, public service assistance calls and other emergencies. The Calaveras County Fire Agencies protects an area that is 66% rural wild land, 21% residential and 3% commercial.


The Department of Homeland Security has awarded the Calaveras County Fire Chiefs Association (CCFCA) a four year Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant in the amount of $1,884,400. The SAFER grant was awarded to Calaveras County’s 11 volunteer fire departments to help increase the number of total volunteers. The funds will be used to implement a regional marketing campaign and volunteer benefit program in order to retain existing volunteer firefighters as well as recruit new volunteers.
CSFCA believes the volunteer recruitment problem is due to the lack of communication between the fire service and the public. The public does not realize there is a need for volunteer firefighters.
The Calaveras County Fire Agencies have implemented a “cafeteria” benefit program, where each firefighter is able to personalize this benefit to meet their needs. The IRS regulated cafeteria program includes the option for each volunteer to choose one benefit to motivate them to continue to volunteer their time. The benefits offered include a 401k contribution (tax deferred), medical and dental insurance premiums, dependent care expenses, and advanced education expenses (college tuition).
These benefits will only be available to active members who meet the Standards of Performance and are in good standing with their chief. These new benefits will be utilized in our marketing efforts for recruiting new volunteer firefighters.