WINNING NARRATIVE 2004



The city of XXXXXX is located approximately 160 miles southwest of Minneapolis/St Paul in West Central Minnesota. XXXXXX is primarily an agricultural community.

THE PROJECT THAT YOU ARE REQUESTING TO BE FUNDED:

XXXXXX Fire Department has 12 volunteer firefighters which provide structural and wildland fire suppression. We serve 345 citizens within the primary response area which covers 63.5 square miles in a rural setting.

Upon review of our Risk Assessment Analysis, we have determined that the XXXXXX Fire Department is in need of Operations and Firefighter Safety program funds to upgrade and purchase equipment that is vital to the continued service in our community.

All of the personal protection equipment that is currently used to protect each member of the department from injury is over 15 years old and does not meet current NFPA and OSHA standards.

It is our goal to purchase NFPA compliant personal protective equipment to equip 100% of our fire fighting staff. The items to be included are as follows: helmets, turnout coats, bunker pants, boots, gloves, protective hoods, and self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with integrated PASS devices. Spare cylinders for each SCBA will also be purchased as well as an air compressor fill station for filling the SCBA cylinders.

Funding from the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant program will help to ensure the safety of our firefighters and the protection of the public in an emergency.

HOW YOU PLAN TO USE THE GRANT FUNDS FOR EACH MAJOR BUDGET ACTIVITY AS LISTED ON THE BUDGET FORM.

1.) Compressor Fill Station. Hand-in-hand with the SCBAs, we wish to purchase a compressor
fill station which will assure the efficient filling and operation of the SCBA air cylinders
-Bauer MVT 5H 6000 psi compressor 1@ 14500 = $14500
-Bauer cfs 2S containment fill station 1@ 5400 = 5400
-Cascade fill panel for containment 1@ 1800 = 1800
-DOT 6000 psi bottles 4@ 1000 = 4000
-shipping 500
Total $26200

2.) Personal Protective Gear. We will purchase 12 complete sets of protective gear which will equip all of our firefighters. Each outfitting of gear will include the following items at the specified costs:
- Helmets 12 @ 218 = $ 2616
- Coats & Bunker Pants: 12 @ $1285 = 15420
- Gloves 12 @ 65 = 780
- Hoods: 12 @ 25 = 300
- Boots: 12 @ 247 = 2964
Personal Protective Subtotal $22080

3.) SCBA Equipment. We will purchase 6 complete sets of SCBA gear together with spare cylinders. Three of the sets will replace current non-compliant equipment. The other three sets will be a first time purchase. All of the pieces will put us in 100% compliance with the OSHA -1910.156 and NFPA 1981 standards. We will purchase the following items:
- SCBA air-pack with integrated PASS devices: 6 @ $3600 = $21600
- Spare SCBA cylinders: 6 @ 750 = 4500
- Face pieces 6 @ 190 = 1140
SCBA subtotal $27240


WHY THIS PROGRAM WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO YOUR COMMUNITY AND/OR TO YOUR DEPARTMENT

Our personnel will be better protected for a very dangerous job. The new gear will improve our response time and reduce heat stress caused by heavier, outdated and improperly fitted gear. The primary benefit of these purchases to our community and the surrounding area is a better-outfitted fire department involved in the protection of the lives and property of the area we serve. We believe by having the proper gear, the quality of the job we undertake will increase, reducing the risk of injury or death to the firefighters as well as the public. Specifically:

1) Compressor Fill Station. Currently, our department rents cascade cylinders from a company 50 miles away from us. Getting our cylinders refilled in a quick and efficient manner has been a big problem. We have had to wait for a week or more for the borrowed cascade system to get refilled, meaning we can’t go into a fire situation during that time. Also, the borrowed cascade system is too small and often cannot keep pace with our need for filling cylinders.

The first-time purchase of our own compressor will solve an interoperability problem within the department and ultimately enhance our protection of the public we serve, as well as enhance our mutual aid to neighboring departments. With an appropriately sized fill station, we will be able to fill more SCBA cylinders per hour with less effort following a fire scene, due to having high dependable pressure from this new system. As a result, we will not have to worry about the operational readiness of our breathing air systems. This will greatly increase our ability to safely fight fires throughout our service area.

The fill station will meet the requirements of NFPA-1981 and will incorporate an SCBA fill station and compressor combination unit. A total enclosed fill station such as we wish to purchase will offer full safety in filling high-pressure SCBA cylinders as recommended by NIOSH and OSHA. The type of fill station we have investigated has been designed and found to protect the operator from overpressure and fragmentation per NFPA-1981. It will also be ANSI/CGA /G7.1 compliant.

2.) Personal Protective Gear. None of our existing turn-out gear complies with OSHA-1910.156 and NFPA-1971 standards. Our current gear was purchased more than 10 years ago and has significant wear and tear. Our goal is to outfit 100% of our firefighting staff with gear that meets current standards and is safe for the tasks that we take on.

One particular problem with our existing gear is that it does not fit our firefighters properly. This creates a safety hazard and we are in violation of a Minnesota OSHA law. Although we have not had an injury or accident as a result of this badly fitting gear, we believe it is only a matter of time before that happens.

Our deficient turn-out gear endangers the safety of all of our firefighters. Purchasing the protective gear described in this application will be of great benefit to our department by improving basic safety for all our members. By keeping our firefighters safe, their lives will be protected to a much greater extent than they are today.

Not only does the lack of proper, well-fitting protective gear jeopardize our members safety, but it also hinders our ability to serve the public. By purchasing adequate gear, we will be able to have more firefighters on site and actively engaged during a fire. We will also be able to eliminate the time-consuming necessity of switching gear between firefighters as one person tires and needs to exchange gear with a person who is rested and fresh. By purchasing the proposed full sets of protective gear, we will have 100% of what is needed and all items will be in OSHA/NFPA compliance.


3.) SCBA Equipment. As we only have 3 vehicles in our fleet, we are seeking the funds for the purchase of six new SCBAs and six spare cylinders. Currently, we have 4 SCBAs which are non-compliant and range in age from 15 - 20 + years old. None of our current SCBAs meet the current OSHA-1910.156 and NFPA-1981 standards. As communication while wearing an SCBA face piece is difficult, adding volume amplifiers to each face piece will enhance the abilities of our firefighters to communicate and to help solve interoperability problems.

The need for SCBAs is critical in outfitting our firefighters safely, as we have several potential dangerous exposures in our fire protection area. These dangers include: anhydrous ammonia storage (102,000 gal), 437,000 gallons of bulk oil, LP gas pipelines and a major railway which runs through the middle of our town. Bringing our equipment into compliance by having an adequate number of SCBAs will not only modernize our department, but also give our firefighters the sufficient personal protection which he/she deserves.


WHY THIS PROJECT CANNOT BE FUNDED SOLELY THROUGH LOCAL FUNDING

Our fire department faces severe financial limitations. We do not have the resources to attempt this project on our own.

1. Depressed local incomes. XXXXXX is located in a highly agricultural area. This leaves our local economy highly vulnerable to the currently-depressed farm economy. A depressed local rural economy, plus the impacts of the nation-wide recession, have created low incomes in XXXX. These low income conditiions seriously handicap our ability to fully fund fire department improvements on our own

2. Per capita income in XXXXXXif $17,048, 26% lower than Minnesota as a whole ($23,198). This is from the 2000 U.S. Census.

3. Elderly population and low incomes. The 2000 census shows that XXXXXXhas a significant proportion of elderly people. In XXXXX, 11% of the population is age 65 or older. The incomes of the elderly take on additional importance. The mean Social Security income in XXXXXXis $8,391, which is 51% lower than statewide ($17,034). This means that for a significant portion of the local population, the local cost (taxes, etc.) of equipping our fire department can be an even greater financial burden.

4. Changing Demographics. In the past 10 years, our community has suffered a population loss of 37%. This loss is attributed to young adults moving off the family farm and into bigger cities, leaving our area with a higher population of senior citizens. With this decline in population, the local tax base is not growing. This leaves a negative impact on the community’s ability to fund new equipment for the fire department.

5. Limited taxing ability. The median value of a house in XXXXXXis $46,400 (2000 census). Statewide the median value of a house in Minnesota is $122,400. This wide difference in value means that we are much less able to generate funds for fire department improvements through a property tax levy.

6. Limited local budget. Our total annual budget is approx. $9000. With this very limited budget, we know of no way we could afford the purchases that we need. If we applied all of our budget towards the purchases we need, it would take about 9 years for us to pay for it.

7. Reductions in state aid. Minnesota currently faces a more than $4+ billion state budget deficit for the coming two years. In an attempt to deal with this huge deficit, State government is proposing a cut in aid funds which flow through to municipalities (LGA or Local Government Aid). While the calculation is not complete for the impact on XXXXX, any significant reduction will put a serious strain on our overall city budget, making it even less possible for us to purchase the kind of items we propose in this application.


ANY ADDITIONAL RELEVANT INFORMATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE US TO CONSIDER WHEN EVALUATING YOUR APPLICATION

Our department faces severe financial limitations that prohibit us from acquiring NFPA and OSHA compliant equipment. By obtaining the necessary funding through the FEMA grant program, we will be able to purchase the equipment necessary to provide our community with better, safer and more efficient service.

Thank you for your consideration to our grant proposal.