Scam Alert

Dear St. George Safety Network Members,

SCAM ALERT

I really hate to start on this note, when we have some happy news to share, but - I've been notified by the president of the St. George Professional Firefighters Association that someone or group of persons is making telephone solicitations supposedly on behalf of the firefighters of East Baton Rouge Parish. Neither St. George nor the Baton Rouge Fire Department solicits funds by telephone. The employee organizations of both departments raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in their annual Shake the Boot for MDA campaigns, however, they do not do so on the telephone. Should you receive such a call and can ID the caller, please call the police with that information.

GOOD NEWS

As you may have heard or read, the St. George Fire Department has been awarded a FEMA SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant in the amount of $2,176,947. This grant will provide partial re-imbursement, on a decreasing scale over five years, of the employment costs of 21 of the 23 new firefighters expected to make up our next Fire Academy.

In order to qualify, we had to create new positions being funded - fulfilling the grant program's purpose of adding firefighters to the ranks of public safety professionals - and demonstrate the ability and intention of sustaining those positions beyond the grant period. This grant program is a valuable asset which softens the local cost to departments like ours, which need to grow along with the communities we serve. These new positions should bring us to, or near, our budgeted number of 178 employees.


Eldon Ledoux
Public Information Officer
St. George Fire Protection District
13686 Perkins Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70810
(225) 454-6573 or (225) 279-1493