LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Lake County Fire Rescue is expanding its workforce thanks to a $7.5 million federal grant from Homeland Security that will fund 36 new firefighter positions over the next three years.

The SAFER grant will allow the department to add a third firefighter to 10 fire trucks across all three shifts and provide six additional firefighters for backfill positions.

For the first two years of the grant, Lake County will have a 25% match, and in year three, the match is bumped up to 65%.

“The main thing is the personnel not being burnt out, having to work all these mandatory overtimes, which is wonderful. But then again, it’s not. You get burnt out. You get tired,” says Laura Sokolowski.

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Sokolowski emphasizes that th

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