Salem’s fire department may be one step closer to adding four new firefighters, according to officials. During a presentation to selectmen on Monday, Dec. 11, Fire Chief Kevin Breen said he had reapplied for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant, which would allow the department to expand their force.

The SAFER grant comes from the Department of Homeland Security and gives a maximum of $100,000 per firefighter hired over a five-year period.

Breen’s grant request asks for $364,320 in federal aid over the next five years to fund the new positions. Taxpayers would end up paying about $1.1 million in total, according to Breen’s presentation.

If given a nod from selectmen in the coming weeks, the plan would appear as a warrant article in March.

The warrant article would ask taxpayers for $53,670 if the grant is given to Salem and $128,190 if it is not.

Breen had previously applied for the grant in 2005 but was rejected. This year, he said, there’s a better chance at receiving the money. The department has received an e-mail from the Department of Homeland Security that indicates Salem will be likely moving on in the grant consideration process, Breen said. “It’s certainly better than last year, but there are no guarantees,” he said.

Rather, Breen asked selectmen to support the new firefighter positions regardless of the outcome of the grant process.

Expansion, he said, is long overdue, and Salem’s number of fire fighters is about half of what it should be.

Salem currently has 52 line firefighters and, based upon the town’s population, it should have closer to 100, according to Selectman Arthur Barnes, who was formerly fire chief.

A significant reduction in fire staff happened in 1991 when the department had to lay off half of its fire fighters due to economic issues in the town and it still hasn’t recovered, Barnes said. Coupled with the understaffing at the department, there has been a steady 3 percent annual increase in the demand for service, Breen said.

As a result, the department’s efficiency has been decreasing.

“We’re really slipping in our response times,” Breen said.

Adding four firefighters would be the first stage in a longterm plan to add a total of 12 to the department, Breen said.

“We need to progress and update our staff here in Salem,” he said.

Selectmen said they would likely support Breen’s plan to add firefighters in 2007, but they would like to take a closer look at financial figures for subsequent years.

Selectman Everett McBride said a look at the structure of the department should also be considered in an attempt to increase productivity.

Perhaps, if productivity is increased, it won’t be necessary to add 12 firefighters, McBride said.

Still, selectmen said they recognized the necessity of bringing Salem’s fire department up to par.

“(The expansions) are worthy goals that we should be working toward,” said Selectmen Chairman Michael Lyons.

Selectmen will likely vote on the warrant article by the end of the month.