Never Forget 343 Gave It All On 9-11-2001
2005 Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program (AFGP)
Grant Recipients Must:
- Comply with DHS requirements – NIMS/ICS (New this year)
- Report to National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) if you are a fire department.
- File progress reports every six months.
- Maintain current contact email in grant.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5, requires that beginning October 1, 2005, all recipients of Federal preparedness funds (including recipients of Federal grants and contracts) adopt the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as a condition for the receipt of the Federal funds.
Recipients of FY2005 AFG funds will be considered to be in compliance with the NIMS requirement if the grantee has an operational knowledge of the Incident Command System (ICS) and an understanding of NIMS’ principles and policies. Responders who have already been trained in ICS do not need retraining if their previous training is consistent with DHS standards. In order for us to document compliance, grantees will be required to certify their recognition of NIMS/ICS as part of their grant closeout process.
(11) Failure to fulfill the recipient’s responsibilities may result in requiring the recipient to return a portion, or all of the grant funding as per section24 (15USC 2229a).
Available NIMS/ICS Training
DHS offers ICS training for those fire departments that have not implemented the Incident Command System, or are unfamiliar with the principals and policies of the NIMS.
For example, ICS training developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) includes:
- ICS-100, Introduction to ICS
- ICS-200, Basic ICS
- ICS-300, Intermediate ICS
- ICS-400, Advanced ICS
For information regarding ICS and NIMS training, visit the NIMS website at http://www.fema.gov/nims. For more information about ICS training, you could contact DHS’s Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk (CSID) at 1-800-368-6498, or visit the website of DHS’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) and the National Fire Academy (NFA) at http://www.usfa.fema.gov.
Your State emergency management training office may also be a source of information in this regard.
Our Minnesota State College Fire Programs provide ICS training classes.
Although the requirement for NFIRS reporting is only for period of performance, the instructor should encourage their continued participation in this System. Note: Fire departments must report to NFIRS. EMS organizations do not have to report to NFIRS
Progress reports include at a minimum an interim report at six months and a closeout report which includes a end-of–period of performance report. The purpose of the reports is to gather information that can be used to explain to Congress the beneficial impact that the program has on local fire departments and communities. The reports should include the results of having been awarded the grant in terms of outcomes.
Grantees are required to maintain ongoing documentation of their grant, e.g., purchase orders, training records, invoices, etc. Records must be kept current so that at any time a Federal government representative can review the status of their grant. Records must be maintained for a minimum of 3 years from the date of award.
EMS agencies are not required to report to NFIRS.
Grant Recipients Must:
- Follow local established procurement procedures.
- Maintain grant records for three years.
- Submit to audit or program review.
Ensure that all procurement actions are conducted in a manner that provides, to the maximum extent possible, open and free competition. In doing so, you must follow your local or established procurement processes when purchasing vehicles, equipment, and/or services with the grant funds. If the fire department has no established procedures, you should obtain at least two quotes/bids for the items you are procuring and document in your grant files the process used.
Grantees are required to maintain ongoing documentation of their grant, e.g., purchase orders, training records, invoices, etc. Records must be kept current so that at any time a Federal government representative can review the status of their grant. Records must be maintained for a minimum of 3 years from the date of award.
All departments that receive awards should expect to be audited. Some audits may be conducted on paper while others may involve site visits. An audit will be done by Inspector General’s Office or the General Accounting Office. Program Reviews are conducted by the POCs as a part of the monitoring program. Departments who receive grants and spend more than $300,000 in a fiscal year are required to conduct an audit. Cost of audit may be included in the grant request.