FARMINGTON FIREFIGHTERS
RELIEF ASSOCIATION:
430 3rd Street
Farmington, MN 55024
Email: ffra@farmingtonmn.gov
RELIEF LINKS:
1. The first part of the relief is to manage the retirement account for the firefighters. The funding for the retirement account comes from both state and city funding through tax dollars. The board members along with a financial advisor from Ameriprise meet quarterly on the best way to invest these funds.
- A firefighter can apply for retirement after 10 years of service but will only receive 60% of his/her retirement account. It takes 20 years to be fully vested and receive the full pension. After 20 years of service the current firefighter will receive a one-time payment of around $100,000 after taxes.
2. The other part of the Relief is to provide support and services to the firefighters. The city of Farmington only provides the basic equipment needed for them to do their job. Because of this, fundraising* is needed to help provide other benefits and helpful equipment. In a typical year we raise around $100,000 from fundraising.
- Most of the money is used to purchase firefighting equipment (Ex; AED's, Gas Monitors, Investigation Tools, Extrication Equipment, and Thermal Imaging Cameras), Some of the money is used to support fire education, Firefighter training, and community events. We have also supported the firefighters by building a workout facility located at Fire Station #2.
- A large part of being a firefighter is teaching the public about fire safety. We have helped them do this by providing demonstration equipment, handouts, and other materials to help educate the public.
*Fundraising: The main source of fundraising for the Fire Relief is through pull tabs at the Farmington Pizza Man. We also have donations from Individuals and local businesses.
In the past 5 years we have donated over $300,000 worth of equipment to the city for the Fire Department.
PURPOSE:
Our Mission is to safeguard and manage retirement funds for the
Farmington Firefighters along with providing benefits and services.
What is the Relief association, and what do we do:
The Relief association has a board of directors consisting of 6
firefighters, 2 City Officials and the Fire Chief.
The Relief Association is divided into two parts: