The Edinburg Fire Department is expanding and will be hiring more firefighters, all thanks to a $1million grant.

Edinburg Fire Chief Omar Garza says he hopes to get the new firefighters on board by January. He says the addition of the crew will not only benefit the city, but also neighboring cities.

Three weeks ago, Garza said their entire department was fighting a big house fire on Ranchland and had to call other fire departments for help.

The four new firefighters, he says, will make a difference.

"I mean, the more people the better, and they can take breaks, and we can switch people in and out. But it's definitely helping, especially with the heat right now. We got a lot of guys getting heat exhaustion and working these big fires, and just imagine wearing all that equipment." Garza said.

Garza says their department has a mutual aid agreement with neighboring cities and with more staff members, they will be able to help out more cities.