From the cover
NBFD to bump sta up by 15%
Put in perspective
Two-minute impact
The main goal of the program is to increase the number of local re departments that can comply with standards established by the National Fire Protection Association. “The grant will allow the city to hire additional re ghters, which will aid in beginning to meet NFPA [standards], which recommends four re ghters on every apparatus,” Camareno said. NBFD Lt. Justin Doegey, who has 15 years of experience in the department, said the SAFER grant will have a positive impact on re ghters and the service they bring to the community. “[The grant is a] really a great move for us,” Doegey said. “We’re being able to get our sta ng levels to a point where we’re not depending on overtime or mandatory overtime; we have a better opportunity to make our response model better.”
FEMA,” Lozano said. “And the additional seven [salaries] will be covered through overtime savings by having better sta ng in the department.” Lozano said the department will be looking for re ghters that have a strong moral compass and dedication to their communities. Robert Camareno has been the New Braunfels city manager for 15 years and has observed the population growth in the city, which has increased more than 66% since 2012, according to the New Braunfels Economic Development Council. “The growth of our city has provided us with the resources to grow the department as well,” Camareno said. “We’ve been very fortunate to be able to add personnel and equipment to better meet the demands of the services provided by the New Braunfels Fire Department.”
The Sta ng for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant was created to provide direct funding to re departments to increase or maintain the number of trained front-line re ghters who are ready to be dispatched. “We’re really thankful FEMA recognizes that we’re a progressive city,” Lozano said. “We’re growing, and we want to stay relevant. We want to be an operationally signi cant department, and to do that, we’ve got to start thinking about our sta ng capabilities.” By utilizing the grant funding, a fourth re ghter will be added to each shift at the three busiest stations in the city: Station 1 downtown, Station 3 on Hanz Street near I-35, and Station 7, which is currently under construction o FM 306. “Overall, we’re going to hire 19 additional re ghters, with 12 of [their salaries] being directly reimbursed for three years from
Average response times of the New Braunfels Fire Department NBFD engine average response time NBFD ambulance average response time NFPA engine standard
New Braunfels Fire Department sta ng
*FOR 2024 2027
19 new re ghters*
12 salaries covered by the grant*
165
+24%
NFPA ambulance standard
175
146
140
4 6 8 10 Minutes
135
135
135
133
133
150
8
125
25
4
3.43
3.3
0
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
0 2
SOURCE: NEW BRAUNFELS FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
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