JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A $2 million dollar boost for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is set to enhance firefighter safety and improve emergency medical services across the city.

This was an extremely competitive process, Chief Keith Powers told First Coast News. This grant was awarded just a year before he plans to retire.

“I feel like I owe everything to this patch in this department,” Powers said.

When the department can do anything to enhance the way firefighters respond to the community, they’ll do so.

“We applied for the grant and were awarded that grant in pieces,” Powers said.

Part of the money from the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program will allow JFRD to certify an additional 60 firefighters as Nationally Recognized Paramedics.

“The American Heart Association says, within four to six minutes, if you do not have oxygen flow into your brain, lack of perfusion going to your brain, brain cells begin to die, and that’s when the outcome is not good,” Powers said.

The training program is set to begin soon. It’s a 10-month curriculum.

“We want the best trained, most highly trained,” Powers said.

The grant also funds the purchase of specialized equipment to reduce cancer risks among firefighters.

“Firefighters have a 14% greater chance of getting cancer than the general population, and it’s due to the exposures that they face, you know, responding to these structure fires,” Powers said.

The new equipment called extractors will help decontaminate gear after exposure to harmful chemicals during fires. It’s all to protect the hearts behind the uniforms.

“We’re the greatest Fire and Rescue Department in the country, and the reason that that is is not because of the equipment we have, not because of our fire stations, it’s because of the men and women that serve out there every day that go above and beyond,” Powers told First Coast News.

It’s a career that’ll stay with you, long after you leave. Chief Powers says he plans to retire in 2026.

“I’ll be honest with you, I cried when I signed my paper, because that was, you know, it’s final,” Powers said. “It’s over when I signed that paper, and I know that it’s going to be tough when I have to walk out the door, because it is the greatest thing ever, and it was life changing for me.”

The Chief thanked the Mayor and city council for their support throughout this process as public safety is one of their top priorities.