Warren firefighters are lobbying to have a share of the city’s $28 million federal dollars from the American Recovery Program spent on new equipment for the fire department.

A letter from Jeremy Rodgers, President of Warren Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 204, has been emailed to 21 News and posted on the local’s Facebook page.

The letter urges city residents and business owners to urge city leaders to use some of the ARP funds to purchase fire department apparatus when they fill out the online survey on the city’s website.

"The members of IAFF Local #204 are responding to incidents throughout the city 24/7-365. They are doing so in 20-year-old fire trucks that are past their useful life, making repairs and maintenance very costly,” according to the letter.

Firefighters ask that people owners choose the "Public Improvements" category as a top priority for ARP funding. They also ask that residents fill out the “comments” section, asking that some of the funds to be used to buy fire equipment.

The survey asks participants to rank the following possible uses for ARP funds on a one to five basis, with one being the highest priority and five being the lowest:

  • Community Facilities: e.g., park improvements, neighborhood park installations.
  • Community Services: e.g., recreation, youth services, senior/youth programs, crime awareness, and prevention.
  • Economic Development: e.g., business assistance, downtown development.
  • Housing / Homeless and Rehabilitation Services: e.g., homeownership programs, housing rehabilitation, life skills training for homeless and chemically dependent.
  • Public Improvement: e.g., sewer, water, public buildings.

The survey also has a comment section for other ideas.

Warren City Council recently approved the purchase of a new fire truck, costing $595,439 to replace one that was purchased back in 1992.

The fire department's goal is to purchase a total of three new trucks using ARP funds.