CHINA GROVE — Thanks to a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, China Grove is expected to add three firefighters to its ranks in the near future.

The China Grove Town Council agreed during its latest meeting to proceed with the DHS grant, which is called Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). Its focus is enhancing the safety of the public and firefighters regarding fire and fire-related hazards.

The purpose of the program is to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate fire protection from fire and fire-related hazards and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments.

Mayor Rodney Phillips said that, initially, China Grove was considering applying for funding to cover six firefighters but later changed to only applying for three.

“The logic behind that is that the grant pays for two years,” Phillips said. “Three firefighters is about $500,000 per year.”

The mayor indicated that he and other town officials were uncomfortable going to six because of the budget hit that would result once the grant’s coverage expired.

Phillips added that the move is in anticipation of expected growth and an increased demand for public safety services.

“We are not short today, but as we project where we want to be in a couple of years out and where we need to be to keep our (fire) insurance rate where it is and our response where it is … we want to be smart about that,” Phillips said. “We have the best fire fighting department in the world, according to me. Our firefighters stay with us, but we have to keep planning ahead and investing to make sure we have the right number of firefighters to respond to the number of calls that they get.”

The SAFER grant was not the only grant funding that the town considered during the latest council meeting. The council also approved budgetary ordinances for a town park grant and a downtown revitalization grant. Phillips credited Town Manager Franklin Gover for doing an amazing job when it comes to identifying grant possibilities.

“They are looking under every rock,” Phillips said. “Our budget next year will be $5.5 million, and in that, there are not a lot of funds laying around to spend at your discretion … Franklin’s leadership and the department heads have gotten creative on funding sources.”

Phillips did urge a cautious approach to accepting too much money from grant sources.

“When a grant runs out, then you are on the hook for it,” Phillips said. “We can’t just go grant crazy.”