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Ypsilanti Hires Two Fire Fighters with SAFER Grant Money

Bob Eccles

There were a couple of new faces on the Ypsilanti Fire Department this week.

The city brought two fire fighters on board using money from the federal SAFER grant it received last month.

Bruce Van Gemert comes to Ypsilanti with experience as a Paramedic Technician at St. Joseph Hospital. He has also been an on-call fire fighter for Van Buren Township.

Nate Darling returns to his native Michigan from Indianapolis, Indiana. He's a HAZMAT Technician and certified Fire Instructor with the Department of Homeland Security. His 13-year stint as a full-time fire fighter also included time with the fire department in Warren, Michigan.

The city of Ypsilanti plans to use SAFER grant funds to hire four more fire fighters, who'll start around the first of April.