DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. — Five months after layoffs were threatened and retiring firefighters weren't replaced, the mood was buoyant Wednesday at the announcement of a $7 million federal grant that will allow Newark to hire up to 70 firefighters over the next two years.

"This is a great thing; it's a win-win for everybody, to get that amount of money," Newark Firefighters Union vice president Kevin Simpson said. "All we want to do is to be able to provide the safety the public deserves and this money will allow us to do that."

In all, 21 New Jersey municipalities have been awarded grants totaling about $52 million under the federal SAFER program administered by the Department of Homeland Security. Trenton received $13.7 million, Atlantic City got $9.7 million, Jersey City was awarded $8.1 million and Camden received $5.1 million.

At Wednesday's news conference at the Newark Fire Department Training Academy, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg said the federal government stepped in after the state "turned its back" on local governments.

"A bad economy is no excuse to abandon firefighters," Lautenberg said.

Newark firefighters avoided layoffs last fall during a city budget crisis that led to more than 150 police layoffs, but the fire department agreed not to replace firefighters who retire. Simpson said the department is currently down about 24 members and that there are close to 70 who are eligible to retire now.

Hiring about half the number of firefighters covered by the grant would allow the department to reopen an engine company that was closed last year during the budget crisis, Simpson said.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy announced in February that he would use the city's grant to hire 64 firefighters to help replace more than 100 who had retired over the previous year.

Camden notified 68 firefighters — about one-third of the department — in January that their jobs were being cut, but a combination of the federal grant and $2.5 million from the state allowed the city to hire back 31 of them this month, according to city spokesman Robert Corrales.

It's unclear what the cities will do when the grants expire. Simpson said the normal number of retirements over that time might eliminate the need for layoffs in Newark. Corrales chose to focus on the present.

"We have to work within our budget, and it's too early to tell what our budget will be at that time," he said. "For now, we'll take what we can to ensure public safety remains a main priority here."

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