Three fire companies in Philadelphia will reopen thanks to a federal grant. Engine Six, Ladder One, and Ladder Eleven will soon open their doors again after more than a decade.
The Philadelphia Fire Department announced Friday it had received a $22.4 million federal grant to help reopen three fire stations that have been closed for over a decade.
The department received the grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in September through a program called Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER).
This grant will help reopen Engine 6 located at 2601 Belgrade St., Ladder 1 located at 16th and Parrish and Ladder 11 located at 12th and Reed.
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Engine 6, Ladder 1 and Ladder 11 serve neighborhoods such as Kensington, Fishtown, Port Richmond, Fairmount, Spring Garden, Francisville, East Passyunk and South Philadelphia.
The three stations were among seven that closed on Jan. 5, 2009, during the Recession, according to officials.
“This critical funding will enable us to strengthen emergency response in communities that have seen huge growth in recent years,” Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam K. Thiel said in a news release.
The funds from the grant will be used to hire, train and pay 72 firefighters and EMTs over the next three years, according to the fire department.
"Putting these companies back in service is the right thing to do for our residents, visitors and businesses,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement.
The four other companies that closed in 2009 include – Engine 1, Engine 8, Engine 14 and Engine 39. They were all restored in 2019 by a SAFER grant.
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