Garden City will hire three additional firefighters by early next year after recently receiving a federal grant that will pay for wages and benefits for two years.

Fire Capt. Scott Marinkovich and Firefighter Steve Rhea wrote the grant request for $617,616 from SAFER (Staffing Adequate Fire Emergency Response) through FEMA.

Marinkovich has written four grants for the city and mentored Rhea in the latest request in an effort to train newer firefighters in the grant-writing process. The extra firefighters provided by the grant will allow the department to send out a ladder truck on runs. Currently, a pumper truck and ambulance go out on calls.

The department has Fire Chief Cathy Harman and 18 firefighters. The city must hire the additional firefighters by Jan. 28 to get the full grant and if they meet the deadline the force will grow to 21.

“There will be seven firefighters who will be assigned to the station every day,” Harman said. “Right now there are only six. We will be able to go up by one, which will allow us to put the ladder in service most days.”

Marinkovich also wrote and won a grant a few years ago for $745,000 to pay for wages and benefits for four firefighters. The city has kept those firefighters on the roster. The two grants, alone, saved the city more than $2 million, Marinkovich said.

Harman said she is trying to build the force in preparation of upcoming expected retirements.

“I’m trying to look beyond the day to day, because quite a few of us will be eligible to retire in the next couple of years,” she said. “This will allow us to get the department ready for the future and not wait until the end. These guys will be much more prepared. So, we can carry on this great tradition we have. This is a preemptive strike on what could be a huge exodus through retirement in two to three years.”

dandreassi@hometownlife.com | 734-432-5974 | Twitter: @HeraldReporter