WARREN, Ohio- The Warren fire department will not be able to bring back 11 laid off firefighters after a grant proposal was denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Warren had applied for $4 million to call back the firefighters, as well as to replace another 13 who have either retired or left the department, but learned Wednesday that the funding will not be forthcoming.

Mayor Michael O'Brien said FEMA officials told him there were no problems with the application, but that there were 2,100 applications in contention for a share of the available money, a 62 percent increase over last year.

O'Brien said the need for the funding is as great in Warren as in any other city and that they plan to apply for the next round of federal grants soon.