TYLER, Texas (KETK) – The Tyler City Council approved on Wednesday the creation of six new firefighter positions and the upgrade of their Emergency Operations Center’s (EOC) technology.

City officials are receiving a $1,451,782.08 grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to create these new jobs.

“The grant is a non-matching grant awarded to fund the salaries and benefits of the additional firefighter positions for three years, from March 17, 2023, to March 17, 2026. The grant allows $483,927.36 annually for the three-year period,” the city of Tyler said.

With the new firefighters, there will now be 168 people with the fire department.

City Council also approved for the fire department to apply for and get $50,000 from a grant from the State of Texas Office of the Governor’s (OOG’s) Homeland Security Grant Division (HSGD) to update technology at the EOC.

“The funds will be used to purchase 24 laptop computers for the City of Tyler Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) EOC to service the City of Tyler and support emergency response actions to 14 counties in the East Texas Council of Government’s jurisdiction, and additional areas or agencies at the request of other governmental agencies and the State of Texas as needed and allowed,” said Tyler Fire Chief David Coble. “The State of Texas’ State Homeland Security Program provides grant funding that can be used to support programs and projects aimed to maintain and/or enhance the city’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities.”  

The EOC grant does not need matching funds.

Non-certified firefighters can apply for the Tyler Fire Department’s Civil Service Exam. People can apply for the new positions until March 27. To apply, click here.

The test will be conducted on April 11. If people would like to see if they are eligible to apply, they can click here.