WINNING NARRATIVE 2006



The XXX Fire Department is located in XXX County, Minnesota, which is XXX miles west of Minneapolis/St Paul.


Project Description And Budget:
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After a comprehensive risk assessment of our community structure and departmental needs through a review of incident frequencies, types and outcomes, along with open forums with individual firefighters, a serious problem became readily apparent. The XXX Fire Volunteer Fire Department lacks the necessary equipment to provide basic emergency response services without seriously jeopardizing the safety of our firefighting personnel.

Therefore, the XXX Fire Dept. is seeking funding from the AFGP in the Fire Fighting Vehicle Program area for a new NFPA 1901 compliant pumper. This would replace our 1960 and 1968 pumpers which are 46 and 38 years old.

The 46 year old pumper needs to be taken out of service due to the fact that it is unsafe and does not meet 1901 NFPA standards or DOT.

The new pumper would be a single axle, diesel chassis with 1000 gallons of water capacity, 1250 gallon per minute pump, on board foam capabilities, and a generator for lights, fans, etc. This unit would be fully equipped and meet 1901 NFPA compliance.

The cost of this new pumper is $198,000.00 through quotes we have received. We have raised $10,000.00 over the past few years through local fund raising that would go toward this project.

With 5% match and the additional $10,000.00 we have raised the balance would be $178,100.00.

Project Cost ..........$198,000.00

AFGP Request ......... $188,100.00
5% City Match ........ $9,900.00
Fed Share .............$188,100.00
Additional Match ......$10,000.00
Actual Federal Share . $178,100.00


This would be a great benefit for our fire fighters as well as our community.

Financial Need:
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State and Local budget restrictions prohibit this project from being funded solely through local funding.

The XXX Volunteer Fire Department receives a small $6000.00 annual budget from the City of XXX to work with. This revenue is allocated for operating expenses such as building heating, maintenance, utilities, and contstant repairs to the older pumpers. It does not include money for new equipment expenditures.

The XXX Fire Dept. is one of our cities essential services and we strive to take an active role in social as well as civic events of our community.

We continualy seek other sources of revenue through various annual fund raising events.

These events all rely on the generosity of local residents. As with most rural areas, the XXX Volunteer Fire Department is experiencing a declining population due to the migration of our younger generation to urban areas to find jobs, leaving the major percentage of our residents to be children under 18 and senior citizens.

We continually lose a little financial ground each year as we try to replace equipment and the cost of new equipment goes up faster than our budget.

This in turn has a negative impact on the local areas ability to support the fire department and especially trying to keep the equipment within current standards.

In the past, local community and civic organizations have committed themselves to our fire departments fund raising projects with monetary contributions to ensure the safety of the area of which they have members.

The City of XXX has committed itself to a $10,000 match to fund this equipment purchase.

Working together we can have a successful project.


Cost Benefit:
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We know our calls are relatively low, compared to a big city department. It is not indicative of normal years for us. We normally have around 4 structurs fires, 4 grass fires 3 vehicle fires a year.

2005 was a wet year, reducing the number of vegetation fires we were called to. However, we feel that we can spread the benefit of Assistance to Firefighter Grant dollars to just as many people on a per capita basis. Over the life of this vehicle, we think it will cost about an insignificant amount per person to provide the fire protection that this new pumper will give us. This means that our low call volume is matched by a low cost per person for fire fighting preparedness.

By receiving this grant for this equipment, we can remove some of the problems which are negatively affecting our ability to provide mission critical services.

The XXX Fire Department is currently comprised of 14 volunteer firefighters. The XXX fire department serves the residents and businesses of the city of XXX.

We also provide mutual aid to seven other Fire Departments in the county. The ability to operate with neighboring fire departments and other county entities has become a reality of our county emergency plans.

This is a rural area of west central Minnesota with an aging and declining population.

With a small community as ours, and with very limited finances, this program would benefit the whole community and also help in keeping our fire fighters safe. We are looking for a replacement pumper so we will have safe reliable equipment that allows us to perform our tasks.

The entire community will benefit as well as the other local fire departments that we have mutual aid with.

Statement of Effect:
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The XXX Fire Department is seeking ODP/FEMA funding to help get our department in compliance with OSHA and NFPA guidelines. With up-to-date modern equipment our volunteers would be safer in all the hazards and situations we respond to when assisting our citizens in our daily operations.

Our department is very dedicated to protecting the lives and property of the people we serve. We are just the type of department that the FIRE Act is supposed to help.

Each year, we respond to calls that fall into at least five different categories and with the new compliant equipment, it will help us meet the growing demands on our department.

These demands on our department are increasingly disproportionate to our tax revenues and the resources we possess in a small department.

If the XXX Volunteer Fire Department is chosen for this grant, the impact would be great in terms of safety for our fire fighters and for the community of XXX, as well as all of our neighboring departments.

We currently help protect a 40 million gal. ethanol plant, propane and petroleum loadout facility, grain handling and railcar loading facility, chemical and fertilizer warehouses, and a large dairy facility, all within a ten mile radius of XXX.

The city of XXX has a population of 140 residents, which is our main service area. The need to improve and update our pumper is a great concern, not only for the safety of our firfighters, but also for the communities and surrounding areas we protect.

We will be tracking the impact of this grant over the next five (5) years as we measure it's positive impact on our community.

We appreciate your support, and would like to express our appreciation for the opportunities this grant program would provide for our department.

Thank You for your consideration.
XXX Volunteer Fire Department