2004 Program Guidance
for the
Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program
February 2004
This document provides a summary of the 2004
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program’s priorities. It explains how to apply, what items can be
requested, and how applications will be evaluated. Please read this program guidance
carefully. The Final Rule and answers to
frequently asked questions (FAQs) should also be reviewed when made available
on the Web site of the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), U.S. Department
of Homeland Security. Together, these
four documents will provide you with the information you need to complete the
online application. The online
application will be available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp
on or about
Prepared by
the Office for Domestic Preparedness and the
PROGRAM
GUIDANCE FOR THE
2004
ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM
The purpose of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program is to award one-year grants directly to fire departments of a State to enhance their abilities with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. Our primary goal is to provide assistance to meet fire departments’ firefighting and emergency response needs. This program seeks to support departments that lack the tools and resources necessary to protect the health and safety of the public and their firefighting personnel with respect to fire and all other hazards they may face. As in prior years’ programs, equipment and training for preparing for and responding to events that involve chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive devises (CBRNE) are eligible this year, but we are highlighting those items this year and requesting applicants to respond to questions concerning their relation to critical targets.
The authority of this program is derived from the
Federal Fire Protection and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. §§ 2201 et seq.), as
amended. In fiscal year 2003, Congress
appropriated a total of $745,125,000 to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to
carry out the activities of this Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. On
Eligible applicants for the Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program are limited to fire departments of a State. A “fire department of a State” is defined as
an agency or organization that has a formally recognized arrangement with a
State, territory, local, or tribal authority (city, county, parish, fire
district, township, town, or other governing body) to provide fire suppression
to a population within a fixed geographical area. A municipality or fire district may submit an
application on behalf of a fire department when the fire department lacks the
legal status to do so, e.g., when the fire department falls within the auspices
of the municipality or district. When a
municipality or fire district submits an application on behalf of a fire
department, the fire department is precluded from submitting an additional
application on its own. The Alaska
Village Initiative, a nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of
A fire department can apply for assistance for its
emergency medical services (
Fire departments that are Federal or contracted by
the Federal government and are solely responsible under their formally
recognized arrangement for suppression of fires on Federal installations or
land are not eligible for this grant program.
Fire stations that are not independent but are part
of, controlled by, or are under the day-to-day operational direction of a
larger fire department or agency, are typically not eligible. Fire departments that are for-profit
departments (i.e., do not have specific nonprofit status or are not municipally
based) are not eligible to apply for assistance under this program. Also not eligible for this program are
ambulance services, rescue squads, auxiliaries, dive teams, urban search and
rescue teams, fire service organizations or associations, and State/local
agencies such as a forest service, fire marshals, hospitals, and training
offices.
The Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program for fiscal year 2004 mirrors previous years’
programs with minor changes and enhancements.
All the program areas and activities available last year are eligible
for funding again this year. Emergency
medical services activities, however, are not an independent program area for
the 2004 program year. Rather,
Automated Application and
Tutorial for 2004
Again, this year’s application is automated and
available online. The application will
be accessible from the ODP Web site (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp) and USFA Web site
(www.usfa.fema.gov). We have designed
the automated application with many built-in “help screens” and “drop-down
menus” to assist you throughout the application process. The application can be saved and retrieved as
many times as you need while you’re filling it out, right up to the deadline or
submittal. Once you’ve submitted your
application, however, you cannot change it. Another positive feature of the automated
system is that it will not allow you to submit an incomplete application, i.e.,
the system will alert you if you have not provided required information. Also, by submitting your application online,
you will be automatically notified that we have received your application via
e-mail.
A tutorial will be available on the Internet to help
applicants use the online grant application and become familiar with the AFG
program. This tutorial explains the AFG
program and many of the application screens; it provides tips for navigating
the application screens and summarizes the changes in the grant program that
are new in fiscal year 2004. The
tutorial also provides a review of the lessons learned from the 2003 grant
program.
You may decide to hire or otherwise use a grant
writer to assist you in the application process. This is allowable. However, you, as the applicant, are
responsible for the information contained in your application. By submitting the application, you are
certifying that all of the information contained therein is true and an
accurate reflection of your department.
Therefore, please review all work produced by grant writers or other
third parties on your behalf prior to submission.
Paper applications will be accepted but are
discouraged. We are discouraging paper
applications because of the inherent delays associated with processing a paper
application. Also, if awarded,
applicants who submit paper applications must continue to manage their grants
via paper, including payment requests, requests for modifications, reporting,
etc., whereas electronic applicants can do all of these functions online. Additionally, paper applications don’t have
the built-in help that is available to the online applicants. Finally, there is no built-in assurance that
your paper application is complete when submitted. If you do not have access to the Internet,
contact us directly (
The only legitimate paper application is the
application that we send you – do not use any paper application that you did
not receive directly from us. Do not
print the screens from this year’s online application and submit it. Do not use a previous year’s
application. Any paper application that
is not in the correct format will be deemed ineligible.
We will begin accepting completed applications for
the 2004 program on or about
Project Development
In 2004, we have continued our practice of allowing you to formulate a very comprehensive grant proposal. Depending on the program for which you apply, we are allowing your grant proposal to include a number of related “activities” to address all of your needs within a programmatic or functional area. This approach provides you with the opportunity to develop a more comprehensive grant project that addresses a broader range of your fire department’s needs. You may submit only one application per program year, and your application is further limited to only one of the program areas listed below. Be advised that your application should include only activities that can be completed within the one-year grant period.
You can submit an application for any one of this
year’s three program areas, and, as stated above, you may include as many
activities within that one program as necessary to meet your needs. The programs, and
associated activities eligible in this year’s grant program are as follows:
1. Operations and Firefighter Safety Program. Eligible activities under this function are
limited to training, equipment, personal protective equipment, wellness and
fitness, and modifications to fire stations and facilities*. Please note that requests for emergency
medical services training and equipment are available under the appropriate
activities in this program area. Also,
note that requests for equipment, personal protective equipment, and training
to prepare for response to incidents involving CBRNE are available under the
appropriate activities in this program area.
2. Fire Prevention Program. Eligible
activities under this function include, but are not limited to, public
education and awareness activities, fire code enforcement activities, fire
inspector certifications, purchase and installation of smoke alarms and fire
suppression systems*, wildland mitigation,
and arson prevention and detection activities.
Renovations that are necessary to accomplish the education and awareness
function may be eligible, however, grantees may not change the footprint or the
profile of the building, i.e., the building may not be enlarged nor can the
height increase.
3. Firefighting Vehicle Acquisition Program. Eligible apparatus under this program
include, but are not limited to, pumpers, brush trucks, tankers/tenders, rescue
vehicles, ambulances, quints, aerials, foam units, and fireboats. You may apply for only one vehicle per year.
As
stated above, this year you may submit one application for assistance in only
one of these three program areas. Within
your selected program area, you may develop a comprehensive program to address
all of your needs by applying for as many of the eligible activities you
determine are necessary. For example, if
you determine that your needs are in the area of Operations and Firefighter
Safety, you could apply for any one of the activities under that program, or
any combination of activities, or all of the activities listed within that
program. If you need a vehicle, you must
apply under the Firefighting Vehicle Acquisition Program. You may not apply for a vehicle in any
program area other than the Firefighting Vehicle Acquisition Program.
Application Procedure
Eligible applicants can apply for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program online via ODP’s “e-grants” application process. The system will allow one authorized representative of a department to log in and create a username and password for the department. If you submitted an application in previous years, it is advised that you use the same username and password that you used for your previous applications. The selection of the authorized representative is at the discretion of each department. The information requested online is an electronic version of many Federal grant forms. The application includes general questions about your department and your community, as well as questions regarding your proposed project.
DUNS Number
Effective
There is no charge to obtain a DUNS number, and it
is the applicant's responsibility to obtain one. Applicants are encouraged to apply for a DUNS
number well in advance of the application period because it may take 2 to 3
weeks or more to obtain the number online.
It is recommended that applicants request a DUNS number as soon as
possible by calling
Application
As in previous years, you will be required to answer a series of questions designed to provide the FIRE Grants Program Office with general information about your department and community. The answers you provide to these questions may be used in the evaluation of your application. We will also use some of the information to determine whether your department serves an urban, suburban, or rural community. We believe that characteristics such as population, water supply, land use, number of fire stations, number of inhabitable structures over four stories tall in your jurisdiction, and call volume are indicators of the type of community you serve. We will use these characteristics in determining what type of community you serve. The designation will be displayed on the application once you have completed the Department Characteristics sections of the application.
We have established different funding priorities in some of the program or activity areas depending on the type of community you serve. These funding priorities are delineated in each program area below, if applicable. This community designation (i.e., urban, suburban, or rural) may affect the ranking of your application depending on the program area for which you are applying. If you disagree with your designation, you may address your concerns in the narrative section of the application, but you may not change the designation.
After you have completed the general questions, you will be asked a series of activity-specific questions relative to the program you selected and the activities for which you plan to apply. You will answer the questions for each of the activities that support your project.
Lastly, you will be required to provide a written narrative describing your planned project. The narrative portion of your application should provide the details of activities you propose to be funded, including budget details for each of your activities. It should describe the financial need of your fire department and elaborate on the benefits your community and/or fire department will gain from the expenditure of the grant funds.
We recommend that you type your narrative offline in
any word processing software, such as Word, Word Perfect, Notepad, etc. Once your narrative is complete, you can copy
it or “copy-and-paste” it from your word-processing document into the narrative
block in the application. Space for the
narrative is limited, so your narrative should not exceed five pages. Do not type your narrative entirely in
capital letters.
Evaluation Process
We will rank all complete and eligible applications based on the substance of your application relative to the established program priorities for the type of community served. We determine this relationship from your answers to the activity-specific questions. If you apply for more than one activity in your selected program, each activity will be scored separately. Then your scores will be prorated based on the individual activities’ funding level compared to the total requested funding in your application. For example, if you are applying under the Operations and Firefighter Safety Program, and you are applying for $9,000 in training and $1,000 in equipment, the training portion of your proposal will represent 90 percent of your score and the equipment will represent 10 percent of your score. The number of activities included in your application will not provide any advantage or disadvantage with respect to its evaluation.
When reviewing your application, the panelists will use your narrative and all the information in your application to determine the worthiness of your request for an award. During the panel review process, the panelists will provide a subjective but qualitative judgment on the merits of CBRNE equipment and training requests relative to the critical infrastructure that the applicant protects. Critical infrastructure includes any system or asset that if attacked would result in catastrophic loss of life or catastrophic economic loss. Critical infrastructure also includes the following:
- Public water systems
serving large population centers.
- Primary data storage
and processing facilities, stock exhanges, or major banking centers.
- Chemical facilities
located in close proximity to large population centers.
- Major power generation
facilities that exceed 2,000 MW and support the regional electric grid.
- Hydroelectric
facilities and dams that produce power in excess of 2,000 MW or could
cause catastrophic loss of life if breached.
- Nuclear power plants.
- Electric substations
500 KV or larger, and substations 345 KV or larger that are part of a
critical system supporting populations in excess of one million.
- Rail and highway
bridges over major waterways that, if destroyed, would cause catastrophic
loss of life or catastrophic economic impact.
- Major natural gas
transmission pipelines in excess of 3,000 bcf.
- Natural gas and liquid
natural gas storage facilities.
- Major petroleum
handling facilities such as pipelines, ports, refineries, and terminals.
- Telecommunications,
Internet and cyber facilities.
- Facilities that support
large public gatherings such as sporting events or concerts.
The panelists will evaluate and score the clarity of your proposed project including your project’s budget detail, the financial need of your department, and the benefits that would result should you be awarded the grant. These three elements carry equal weight when factored into the panelists’ scores (i.e., one-third). Each application will be judged on its own merits – not against other applications. The panelists will consider all expenses budgeted, including administrative and/or indirect costs, as part of their cost-benefit review. In addition, an applicant can demonstrate cost-benefit by describing, as applicable, how the grant award will do the following: 1) fit in with a regional approach, i.e., is consistent with current capabilities and requests of neighboring fire departments or otherwise benefits other fire departments in the region; 2) promote interoperability of equipment/technology with other fire departments and local, State, and Federal first-responders; and/or 3) allow the fire department to respond to all hazards (all hazards include incidents involving seismic (earthquake), atmospheric (tornadoes, hurricanes), or technological (hazardous materials, nuclear, etc.) events, or incidents involving CBRNE, as well as fire prevention/suppression). The panelists will review each application in its entirety and compare the application against established evaluation criteria, not against other applications.
Keep in mind that we will use your answers to the
activity-specific questions for our initial assessment. Your answers to these questions are the
primary bases upon which we will determine whether your application warrants
further evaluation. Applicants whose
answers indicate that their project is consistent with our established
priorities (as outlined below) will have a better chance of reaching the
competitive range and the second level of review than those applicants whose
projects do not reflect the established priorities. Applicants that falsify their applications or
misrepresent their departments in any material manner will have their applications
deemed ineligible by the AFG program office and referred for further action as
appropriate.
State Technical
Review of CBRNE Applications
Following our preliminary determination of award
(i.e., after the panel process is complete) but prior to award, we will involve
the State’s homeland security office in a technical review of any application
that is seeking equipment and/or training for preparation for incidents
involving CBRNE. Each State will be
asked to provide the AFG program office with a representative to carry out this
technical review of applications from the State that include CBRNE-related
requests and that have been rated as fundable by the peer review
panelists. In the technical review, the
State representative will attest to and certify that any CBRNE-related requests
are consistent with the State’s homeland security plan and that the requests do
not duplicate assistance already provided or about to be provided.
Programs and Program Priorities
1) Operations
and Firefighter Safety Program
There are five different
activities available for funding under this program area: training, equipment,
personal protective equipment, wellness and fitness, and modifications to
facilities. Please note that emergency
medical services (
You may apply for, as many
of the activities within this program as you think are necessary in one
application. There are no bonuses or
penalties for applying for only one activity or for multiple activities.
Wherever possible, equipment requests in this program should have the intent
and/or goal of solving applicable interoperability or compatibility
problems. The applicant should describe
in the narrative section how the purchase of equipment would facilitate solving
interoperability or compatibility problems.
a)
Training activities:
DHS may make grants for the purpose of training firefighting personnel. Examples of training activities include, but are not limited to, firefighter I and II certifications; first-responder EMS; driver/operator; fire officer; hazardous materials response; incident command; supervision and safety; CBRNE awareness, performance, planning and management; or train-the-trainer courses in any of these areas.
We believe that the most
benefit is derived from training that is instructor-led, hands-on, and leads to
a nationally sanctioned or State certification. Training requests that include
Web-based home study or distance learning and the purchase of training
materials, equipment, or props are a lower priority. Therefore, applications focused on national
or State certification training, including train-the-trainer initiatives, will
receive a higher competitive rating.
Training that involves instructors where the students must demonstrate
their grasp of knowledge of the training material via testing and is integral
to a certification will receive a high competitive rating, but not to the
extent of the trainings that would lead to national certification. Training that is instructor-led but does not
lead to a certification, or any self-taught courses,
are of low benefit, and therefore they will not be afforded a high priority.
We will rate more highly
those proposed programs that benefit the highest percentage of applicable
personnel within a fire department or those proposed programs that will be open
to other departments in the region.
Training that brings the department into statutory (or Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)) compliance would provide the highest
benefit relative to training that is not required, therefore receive the
highest consideration. Training that
brings a department into voluntary compliance with national standards will also
receive a high competitive rating, but not as high as the training that brings
a department into statutory compliance.
Training that does not have statutory compliance or voluntary compliance
with a national standard will receive a low competitive rating.
Due to the inherent differences between urban, suburban, and rural firefighting characteristics, we have developed different priorities in the training activity for departments that service these different types of communities. However, CBRNE awareness training has a high benefit and will receive the highest consideration regardless of the type of community served.
For departments serving rural communities, we believe that funding basic, operational-level firefighting, operational-level rescue, driver training, or first-responder EMS, EMT-B, and EMT-I, (i.e., training in basic firefighting duties) has greater benefit than funding officer training, safety officer training, or incident-command training. In rural communities, after basic training, there is a greater cost-benefit to officer training than for other specialized types of training such as mass casualty, HazMat, advance rescue and EMT, or inspector training for rural departments.
Conversely, for departments that are serving urban or suburban communities, we believe there is a higher benefit to be gained by funding specialized training, such as mass casualty, HazMat, advance rescue and EMS, or inspector training than the funding of officer training, safety officer training, or operations training, which in turn has a higher benefit than basic-, operational-, or awareness-level activities. Training designated to enhance multi-jurisdictional capabilities will be afforded a slightly higher rating.
Eligible uses of training funds include but are not limited to tuition, exam and course fees, certification and/or re-certification expenses, purchase of training curricula, training equipment (including trailers and simulators), training props, training services (such as instructors), attendance at formal training forums, etc. Tow vehicles or other means of transport may be eligible as a transportation expense under this activity if adequately justified in your grant proposal, but we will limit transportation expenses to $6,000 per year per application. Compensation to volunteer firefighters for wages lost because of attending training under this program is an eligible expense if justified in your grant proposal. Overtime expenses paid to career firefighters to attend training, or overtime expenses paid to firefighters to cover for colleagues while the colleagues are in training, are eligible expenses if justified in your grant proposal. Even though compensation is an eligible expense, proposals that contain such compensation expenses may be less favorably scored than similar proposals without compensation expenses due to the cost-benefit element in the evaluation process.
Activities that are not eligible in this area include construction of facilities, such as classrooms, buildings, towers, etc. Modular training units that are not trailer-mounted are not eligible. Grant funds cannot be used for modular training units if the units are to be permanently fastened to the ground. No grant funding can go toward site preparation to accommodate any training activity, facility, or prop. The purchase of real estate is also not eligible. Renovations to an existing facility that are necessary to accomplish training activities are allowable if the renovations are minor and comply with the definition in the Final Rule and published in the Federal Register (i.e., limited to minor interior alterations costing less than $10,000). Renovation expenses should be included in the budget as an “Other” line-item expense and clearly explained in the narrative.
ODP offers a
variety of CBRNE training courses free of charge; visit the ODP Web site for
details (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/docs/coursecatalog.pdf) or call the ODP Helpline
at
b) Equipment
Acquisition:
The stated purpose of this
grant program is to protect the health and safety of firefighters from fire and
fire-related hazards. As such, we
believe that this grant program will achieve the greatest benefits by providing
funds to fire departments purchasing basic firefighting equipment before any other
non-firefighting equipment. Equipment
that has a direct effect on firefighters’ health and safety will receive a high
competitive rating over equipment that has no such effect. Equipment that
promotes interoperability with neighboring jurisdictions may receive additional
consideration in the cost-benefit assessment if the application makes it into
the competitive range.
We believe this
grant program will achieve the greatest benefits if we provide funds to fire
departments purchasing basic firefighting, rescue,
The purchase of equipment that brings the department into statutory (or OSHA) compliance will provide the highest benefit and therefore will receive the highest consideration. The purchase of equipment that brings a department into voluntary compliance with national standards will also receive a high competitive rating, but it will not be as high as for the training that brings a department into statutory compliance. Equipment that does not have an effect on statutory compliance or voluntary compliance with a national standard will receive a lower competitive rating.
The purchase of any communications
systems and/or equipment under this activity should have the intent and/or goal
of solving your interoperability problems, as applicable. Any applicant seeking funding for equipment
herein should provide details in the narrative section of the application
regarding their local plan to enable interoperability for the
jurisdiction.
This year, requests for
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) equipment are eligible in this activity. Eligible expenses for EMS equipment in this
activity can include, but are not limited to, defibrillators, basic and advanced
life support equipment, universal precaution supplies (i.e., one-way masks,
latex gloves), computers, expendable supplies (but not medications), and
infectious disease control and decontamination systems.
No grant funds can be used
to construct facilities such as buildings, sheds, or towers to house
communications equipment. Telephones and
cell phones are not eligible. Bomb disposal
equipment and robots are not eligible.
Personal protective equipment, including clothing for structural and
wildland fire suppression, such as “turnout gear” or “bunker gear” (including
boots, pants, coats, gloves, hoods, goggles, vests, helmets, coveralls, and
fire shelters), SCBAs, spare cylinders, and personal alert safety systems, are
not eligible under this activity, however, they are eligible under
the Personal Protective Equipment activity detailed below.
c) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Acquisition:
One of the stated purposes of this grant program is to protect the health and safety of firefighters. To achieve this goal and maximize the benefit to the firefighting community, we believe that we must fund those applicants needing to provide PPE to a high percentage of their personnel. Accordingly, we will give the highest competitive rating in this category to fire departments where a large percentage of their active firefighting staff does not have any PPE. We will also give a high competitive rating to departments that wish to purchase enough PPE to equip 100 percent of their active firefighting staff, or 100 percent of their on-duty staff, as appropriate. We will also give a high competitive rating to departments that are purchasing the equipment for the first time as opposed to departments replacing obsolete or substandard equipment (e.g., equipment that does not meet current NFPA and OSHA standards), or purchasing equipment for a new mission. For those departments that are replacing obsolete or substandard equipment, the condition of the equipment to be replaced will be factored into the score with a higher priority given to replacing equipment that is damaged, torn, and/or contaminated.
Due to safety benefits afforded firefighters, for applications that include a request for personal alert safety system (PASS) devices, we will only consider funding applications that are requesting equipment that meets current national standards, i.e., integrated and/or automatic, or automatic-on PASS. Finally, the number of fire response calls that your department makes in a year will be considered with the higher priority going to departments with higher call volumes, while applications from departments with low call volumes will be afforded lower competitive ratings. The call volume of rural departments will be compared only to other rural departments, suburban departments will be compared only to other suburban departments, and urban departments will be compared only to other urban departments.
d) Wellness
and Fitness Activities:
DHS may make grants for the purpose of establishing or expanding wellness and fitness initiatives for firefighting personnel.
We believe that to have an
effective wellness/fitness program, fire departments must offer periodic health
screenings, entry physical examinations, and an immunization program. Accordingly, applicants for grants in this
category must currently offer or plan to offer with grant funds all
three benefits to receive consideration and funding for any other
initiatives in this activity. After
entry-level physicals, annual physicals, and immunizations, high priority is
given to formal fitness and injury prevention programs. Lower priority is given to stress management,
injury/illness rehabilitation, and employee assistance.
We believe the greatest
benefit will be realized by supporting new wellness and fitness programs, and
therefore, we will accord higher
competitive ratings to those applicants lacking wellness/fitness programs over
those applicants that already employ a wellness/fitness program. Finally, since participation is critical to
achieving any benefits from a wellness or fitness program, we will give higher
competitive ratings to departments whose wellness and fitness programs mandate
or provide incentives for participation.
Eligible expenditures in a wellness and fitness activity for firefighting personnel may include the procurement of medical services to ensure that the firefighting personnel are physically able to carry out their duties (but the purchase of medical equipment is not eligible under this category). Eligible expenditures to carry out wellness and fitness activities may include costs for personnel, physicals, physical fitness equipment (including shipping), supplies, or other related contract services (e.g., health-care consultants, trainers, and nutritionists) directly associated with the implementation of the proposed activity.
The stated purpose of this
grant program is to protect the health and safety of firefighters. As such, eligible projects under this
activity are those in which the activities specifically have a direct effect on
the health and safety of firefighters.
Therefore, eligible measures under this activity are limited but focused
on promoting fire safety and life safety in fire stations and facilities. We believe that each of the eligible
measures, if incorporated, would make any facility safer for firefighters.
Measures that are eligible
for funding are the installation of sprinkler systems, installation of vehicle
exhaust extraction systems, the installation of smoke and/or fire alarm
notification systems, and the installation of emergency facility
generators. We will not fund any other
requests for modifications than the initiatives listed herein. Any vehicle exhaust extraction system obtained
should be extensive enough to extract all toxic vapors and particulates emitted
from internal combustion engines and meet all applicable Federal, State, and
local standards. Some exhaust extraction
systems may meet standards for removal of certain carcinogens, but not others;
therefore, it may be necessary to utilize more than one system to fully protect
your firefighters.
The grant funds are to be
used to retrofit existing structures that do not have the eligible safety
features or to upgrade facilities whose features are dated. The funds may not to be used to supplement
new construction. Many of these
modifications may require environmental review, which
may delay an award.
We believe that more benefit
would be derived from modifying fire stations than would be realized by
modifying fire-training facilities or other fire department facilities. Requests involving facilities that would be
open for broad usage and have a high occupancy capacity would receive a higher
competitive rating than those involving facilities that have limited use and/or
low occupancy capacity. The frequency of
use would also have a bearing on the benefits to be derived from grant
funds. The frequency and duration of a
facility’s occupancy have a direct relationship to the benefits to be realized
from funding in this activity. As such,
facilities that are occupied or otherwise in use 24-hours-per-day,
7-days-per-week will receive a higher competitive rating than facilities used
on an irregular or part-time basis.
We believe that programs
that are based on a formal analysis of a community’s risk should be afforded
the highest competitive rating over fire prevention programs that have no such
basis. We also believe that the public
as a whole will receive the greatest benefit from fire prevention funds
directed to fire departments that currently do not have a prevention
program. Also, we believe the public
will benefit more from long-term fire prevention programs than from limited
efforts. Therefore, we will give a
higher competitive rating to programs that will be self-sustaining after the
grant period. Because of the benefits to
be attained, we will give a higher competitive rating to programs that target
one or more identified high-risk populations (e.g., children under 14 years of
age, seniors over 65, firefighters, and/or other high-risk populations) and
programs whose impact is/will be periodically evaluated.
We believe projects that
provide long-term benefits to the entire community, such as public education
programs and programs that develop and enforce codes and standards, and/or
arson prevention and detection programs provide the greatest benefits. Therefore, such community-wide activities
will be afforded the highest competitive rating. Programs where the focus is on the purchase
and installation of residential and public detection and suppression systems
achieve positive benefits but not the highest competitive rating. The purchase of public information materials
and presentation aids and equipment achieves the least benefit; therefore,
these types of activities will be
afforded the lowest competitive rating.
Eligible expenses to carry
out these activities would include costs such as a fire education safety
trailer, personnel, transportation, equipment (including appropriate PPE),
supplies, and contracted services that are directly associated with the
implementation of the proposed activity.
Tow vehicles or other means of transport may be eligible as a transportation
expense if adequately justified in the proposal, but transportation expenses
will be limited to $6,000 per application.
Physical mitigation or hazard abatement activities, such as prescribed burns are not eligible activities under this program, but mitigation planning, awareness and education are eligible. Construction as defined in the Final Rule is not eligible under this program. Real estate is not eligible under this program. Renovations to an existing facility are allowable if justified in the narrative and if the renovations are minor as defined in the Final Rule and published in the Federal Register (i.e., limited to minor interior renovations costing less than $10,000). Renovation expenses should be included in the budget as an “Other” line-item expense and explained in the narrative. A safety village that is not transportable may be considered construction, and therefore, not eligible. Sprinkler systems for residential or commercial uses are not eligible unless the installation is specifically implemented as a critical element in a demonstration or awareness project.
Due to the inherent
differences between urban, suburban, and rural firefighting conventions, we
have developed different priorities in the vehicle program for departments that
service different types of communities.
The following chart delineates our priorities in this program area for
each type of community. Due to the
competitive nature of this program and the imposed limits of funding available
for this program, it is unlikely that we would fund many vehicles that are not
listed as a Priority One or a Priority Two this year.
|
Vehicle Program Priorities |
|||
Priority
|
Urban Communities |
Suburban Communities |
Rural Communities |
|
Priority One |
Pumper |
Pumper |
Pumper |
|
Aerial Quint (Aerial < 76’) |
Aerial Quint (Aerial < 76’) |
Brush/Attack Tanker/Tender |
|
|
Quint (Aerial 76’ or >) Fire Boat |
Quint (Aerial 76’ or >) Fire Boat |
Quint
(Aerial < 76’) |
|
|
Rescue |
Brush/Attack |
|
|
|
Priority Two |
Command HazMat |
Command HazMat |
HazMat Rescue |
|
Light/Air |
Rescue |
Light/Air |
|
|
Rehab |
Tanker/Tender |
Aerial Fire Boat Quint (Aerial 76’ or >) |
|
|
Priority Three |
Foam Truck |
Foam Truck |
Foam Truck |
|
ARFFV |
ARFFV |
ARFFV |
|
|
Brush/Attack |
Rehab |
Rehab |
|
|
Tanker/Tender |
Light/Air |
Command |
|
|
Ambulance |
Ambulance |
Ambulance |
|
Regardless of the type of community served, we believe that there is more benefit to be realized by funding fire departments that own few or no vehicles of the type they are seeking than there would be by providing vehicle funding to a department with numerous vehicles of that same type. When we assess the number of vehicles a department has within a particular class, we will include all vehicles with similar functions. For example, we consider the following to be classified in the “pumper” category: pumpers, engines, pumper/tankers, (with less than 1,250 gallon capacity), rescue-pumpers, quints (with aerials less than 76 feet in length), and urban interf