President Biden on Monday visited a shuttered firehouse in a Philadelphia neighborhood that suffered a lethal hearth in January and introduced federal grants that may reopen the fireplace station.

He mentioned that if the Ladder 1 firehouse had been open in January, perhaps firefighters would have saved the 12 individuals, together with 9 youngsters, who died that night time within the Fairmount neighborhood.

“On the day of the Fairmount hearth, if [this] firm hadn’t been decommissioned, Ladder 1 would have been the closest truck to the fireplace,” Mr. Biden advised the gang of firefighters. “Possibly it could have saved some lives.”

Mr. Biden’s look is his newest effort to shore up assist from the IAFF, whose members take pleasure in broad assist throughout the political spectrum. Neither the native nor nationwide union has endorsed a candidate forward of the 2024 election.

He gained the nationwide union’s endorsement in 2020.

The journey marks the nineteenth time Mr. Biden has visited Philadelphia since taking workplace, excess of anywhere he’s traveled to outdoors of his dwelling in Delaware.

Ladder 1 will reopen due to $22.4 million in federal grant Mr. Biden introduced for town’s hearth departments. The cash will even assist open two different firehouses and pay for extra recruits and extra salaries for firefighters throughout town.

Mr. Biden additionally boasted that he’s supported firefighters his complete profession.

“ when the worst occurs and people alarms go off. When everybody and every thing you like is at risk, there’s no higher sight on the planet than a firefighter able to go to work.”

Mr. Biden mentioned the grant will cowl 72 firefighters’ salaries and advantages for 3 years. The cash will come from the Staffing for Enough Hearth and Emergency Response program, which is run by way of FEMA and have become accessible by way of final 12 months’s finances.

“For the primary time in almost 15 years, this neighborhood as soon as once more has a ladder firm on name 24 hours a day, 12 months a 12 months, able to maintain them secure,” he mentioned.

The lethal blaze in January is believed to have began when a 5-year-old boy lit a Christmas tree within the unit, which didn’t have working smoking detectors.

Officers attending the occasion embrace the native Worldwide Affiliation of Hearth Fighters (IAFF) President Mike Bresnan, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Hearth Commissioner Adam Thiel.