Ypsilanti Fire Dept. hires Lt. VanGemert with SAFER grant

Van Buren Township on-call Fire Lt. Bruce VanGemert has been hired by the City of Ypsilanti as a full-time fire fighter with funds coming from a federal SAFER grant it received in January.
The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was announced Jan. 17 for $800,505 for hiring fire fighters in Ypsilanti.
VanGemert started his new job on Feb. 17 and the next day the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees unanimously granted him a six-month personal leave of absence from its fire department, retroactive to Feb. 17.
The VBT union contract allows a six-month leave, so VanGemert can come back to fighting fires on a paid-on-call status at his former pay and seniority rather than having to start over once his intense first months of training are over for his new job. VanGemert lives in VBT.
VBT Fire Chief Dan Besson said the department has always offered a leave of absence and VanGemert is the first one to take advantage of it.
VanGemert, a member of the Hazmat team, has been an exemplary employee, Chief Besson said.
VanGemert is a six-year member of the fire department. He was presented with VBT’s Bill Gage Award for Excellence in Fire Service in 2012.
VanGemert’s position of lieutenant was turned over to fire fighter Doug Doty, since the position cannot be kept on hold.
The City of Ypsilanti also used the SAFER grant to hire Nate Darling, who returned to his native Michigan from Indianapolis, IN. He has 13 years of full-time fire fighting experience.
The City of Ypsilanti plans to use SAFER grant funds to hire four more fire fighters, who will start around April 1.