Fire Department gets grant for medical rescue vehicle

The Hoover Fire Department recently obtained two federal grants totaling almost $250,000 to help buy a new medical rescue vehicle and fitness equipment for all 11 fire stations.

The grants came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters program, Chief Clay Bentley said.

Hoover will receive almost $205,000 to help purchase the medical rescue vehicle and almost $44,000 to help purchase the fitness equipment. The city must chip in about $25,000 to receive the grant money, Bentley said.

At the beginning of the year, the Fire Department had seven medical rescue units, three of which were fully staffed and in frontline operation, City Administrator Allan Rice said.

After private ambulance companies stopped serving Hoover in April, the Hoover Fire Department started staffing a fourth medical rescue unit during the peak hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., using existing personnel and overtime, Rice said.

In August, the department began staffing the fourth rescue unit 24 hours a day with existing personnel, he said.

By mid-September, the Fire Department added an eighth rescue vehicle to its fleet, and a ninth one was requested in the 2022 budget. The new grant from the federal government will allow the purchase of a 10th one, Rice said.

However, the new vehicles likely will serve as replacement vehicles for some older ones, Rice said. Some of the current frontline vehicles will be shifted into reserve status, and the department may repurpose or sell some of the older vehicles, Rice said.

In his 2022 budget request, Bentley asked for permission to hire seven new firefighter/paramedics so the department can fully staff a fifth medical rescue unit in its frontline fleet.

However, Mayor Frank Brocato did not include the additional staff in his budget recommendation to the City Council. Rice said he and the mayor want to gather more data to justify hiring seven new firefighter/paramedics, which he said would cost at least $480,000 a year.

Bentley believes the city will take in more than $1 million a year in additional fees for taking people to hospitals now that private ambulance companies no longer serve Hoover, which he said should more than pay for the additional personnel.

Rice said he and the mayor want to analyze actual revenue collections and costs for several more months before deciding whether to recommend additional hires.

In the meantime, “every call is being answered. Every person is being treated, and every person [who needs more care] is being transported to the hospital rapidly,” Rice said.

Reserve medical rescue units are stocked and ready to roll, and fire engines and ladder trucks also answer medical calls, Rice said. Hoover also has mutual aid agreements with nearby departments if needed.