| * Please indicate which of these Target Capabilities your request outlined in this application will satisfy. Check all that apply: | |
| Responder Safety and Health Firefighting Operations/Support Hazardous Materials Response Search and Rescue Emergency Medical Services |
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| * Please provide your narrative statement in the space provided below. Include in your narrative, details regarding (1) your project’s description and budget, (2) your organization’s financial need, (3) the benefit to be derived from the cost of your project, and (4) how the activities requested in your application will help your organization’s daily operations and how this grant will protect life and property. | |
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XXX is community located 25 miles XXX of Minneapolis/St Paul Minnesota. We are asking your help in the Vehicle Program area to replace an old obsolete non-compliant pumper for $370,750.00 We have an additional $100,000.00 for the project. Project Description and Budget: ---------------------------------- After a risk assessment and analysis we have determined that our top priority for the XXX Fire Department is the replacement of a non-compliant 1956 two passenger non-seat-belt configured Engine with an all hazard response engine compliant with current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901 standards. The all hazard response engine will be a Type I Engine with a crew cab allowing more than 2 firefighters to respond safely with this Engine. Currently we subcontract the maintenance of our vehicles with Emergency Apparatus Maintenance Company. The 1956 Engine has failed the pump test the past three years. There are numerous vacuum leaks that allow air to flow with water through the pump compromising performance and safety. The serious challenge that XXX faces is to continue providing the quality of response expected of us with fewer responders. Ensuring the safety and health of our membership by replacing a 1956 Engine that has failed the pump test the last 3 years is an effective way to meet this challenge. The land use in the area served by XXX Fire Department is a mix of commercial, agricultural, residential, parks, and wetlands. An industrial complex completed in 2000 has increased the commercial area in XXX by 50%. The XXX Fire Department serves the communities of XXX and a portion of XXXX and a 2700-acre county park. This park averages over 325,000 visitors annually and includes 500 picnic sites, a 210-site campground, 6 group camps providing overnight berthing for up to an additional 200 people and a beach area. The population of the XXX fire service area doubles each year between Memorial and Labor Day weekends when park usage is at its peak. The XXX Fire Department is a paid-on-call, volunteer agency that currently employs 25 firefighters. Over the past decade its membership has seen a gradual decline from the authorized strength of 35 due to attrition and lack of interest from eligible replacements. Call volume, on the other hand, has remained fairly stable at approximately 300 calls annually. XXX Fire Department provides an all hazards approach to fire suppression, hazardous materials, water rescue, vehicle extraction, and emergency medical service to residents in the communities it serves. The approved 2007 budget for the City of XXX is 1.3 million dollars. The 2007 budget for the XXX Fire Department is $253,000. Approximately half of the fire budget comes from contracts with neighboring communities. With the extension of Interstate XXX in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area to be completed in the fall of 2008, traffic volume is expected to increase 50% within the next 10 years. Interstate highway XXX ends XX miles to the east of XXX depositing traffic onto highway XXX. XXX will be known as the first traffic light XXX of Minneapolis on the Interstate XXX corridor. This could result in a shift from a rural agricultural community to a residential bedroom community as development spreads along the Interstate. XXX Fire Department makes this grant application to replace its 1956 Class I Engine with a model that meets NFPA 1901 standard. This proposed Type I Engine will include a hydraulic rescue tool system, hazardous material monitoring equipment, onboard foam system, ,and 5-inch hose making it an all hazard response engine. The expected cost of this Engine is $385,000. The associated equipment necessary to conform to NFPA 1901 standards will come out of the Fire Partnerships Capital Equipment Replacement Account. XXX has an annual driver-training program based on NFPA 1002. BUDGET BREAK DOWN ----------------- Total Project Cost: $385,000 Extra Match: $100,000 Requested: $285,000 Required 5% Match: $14,250 Federal share is $270,750 NFPA compliant Custom chassis 6-man cab 1500 gpm pump 500 on board water If our grant request of $270,750 is awarded, the City of XXX will contribute a 5% match or $14,250 required to meet FEMA requirements in addition we will provide an additional $100,000. In carrying this grant forward firefighters will be afforded the quality protection recommended to them by code and the Fire Department can continue to serve the growing needs and risks presented by the community. If awarded this grant the 1956 Engine will be permanently removed from service. Financial Need: ---------------- The cities of XXX and XXX which both contribute approximately 50% of our operating budget continue to be extremely sensitive to the needs of the XXX Fire Department, especially when any type of safety issue is involved. Given this, both cities along with the vast majority of cities around the country continue to do their best to meet the needs and expectations of the citizenry with a responsible allocation of scarce resources. An outcome of our recent risk assessment found that while our operating budgets have remained static, funds for apparatus upgrades or replacement have been mostly abandoned or ignored for many years due to needs in other areas. In the past two years, the XXX Fire Department has managed to initiate a limited capital equipment replacement account. This account has been entirely funded by cost reductions in the operating budget enacted by the XXX Fire Department. We realize the needs of the department as they directly relate to the needs of the community and the understanding that every dollar spent is “our” dollar. A portion of this money was being set aside to go towards the purchase of a new Engine to replace the 1956 Engine currently in service at the XXX Fire Department. Unfortunately one of the two tanker trucks that we operate failed. The vehicle was not repairable and had to be replaced. The majority of the geographical area and population we serve is a rural area without fire hydrants. Tanker trucks are vital to our operations. Replacement of this vehicle completely eliminated the limited funds we had managed to set aside. We have been diligent in our maintenance and upkeep of our 1956 Engine, however, it has become increasing difficult and expensive the last several years to find replacement parts or anyone who can repair it. Our capital equipment replacement account is depleted, and we do need to replace our 1956 Engine with something newer. The award of a grant to replace our 1956 Engine with an All Hazard Response Engine will allow us to reestablish a capital equipment replacement fund which will hopefully have many years to accumulate before we are faced with replacement. There are currently no funds available to replace our 1956 Engine. While the vehicle is technically “in-service”, it cannot be utilized or reliably counted on as a front-line Engine. It is estimated that it would take us between 23 and 31 years to accumulate sufficient funds to replace our 1956 Engine. This of course assumes that our current budget remains exactly the same and we are able to realize the exact same savings for the next 23 to 31 years. This also assumes the engine we purchase today costs the same in 24 years. City Budget $1,528,116 Total Budget The fire department capital and operating budget from last year is broken down into the following areas; Fire Department Budget $14,000 Fire Administration $26,000 Insurance $60,000 Salaries and wages $5,200 FICA $15,000 SCBA $15,000 Capital outlay for equipment $2,100 Fire Prevention $20,500 Fire Training $21,250 Fire Communications $2,700 Medical outlay $3,000 Motor fuel and lube $4,500 Small Engines $36,000 Vehicle Maintenance $16,950 Building $253,000 Total Budget As you can see we have no ability to put money away each year for replacement of the needed equipment or other large purchases. Cost/Benefit: --------------- Benefit Extra Match - A total project cost of $385,000 combined with a City contribution of $114,250 will enable us to meet all NFPA 1901 requirements and improve our compatibility with neighboring departments by carrying more than 2 firefighters when responding to mutual aid calls with this engine. Benefit - In upgrading our current 1956 pumper, which does not have seat belts, only carries two passengers and is not NFPA 1901 compliant, we'll have several beneficial safety related outcomes. Benefit - The firefighters families would be confident that their family member is responding to the scene of an incident in a reliable, code-compliant vehicle and that the family member will be returning safely home. Reassuring the firefighter’s families that the firefighters are being provided with up to date equipment that meets all appropriate standards will increase the morale level of the firefighters, which will also increase the firefighters confidence in their apparatus and that they'll be able to perform their jobs appropriately and more safely. Benefit - As mentioned earlier, with the current apparatus, there are no seat belts, there's no cab insulation whatsoever and the noise levels exceed the allowable decibel OSHA safety levels. Benefit - Our fire department currently has in place a comprehensive driving training program in the operation of all vehicles on a yearly basis based on NFPA 1002. PROBLEM - During previous years testing and operations of the 1956 pumper, it's been very difficult to get people to be able to do the diminishing clearance and serpentine test due to the nonexistence of power steering and non-synchronized gear shifting transmission. PROBLEM - We feel that training to 1956 technology is not the best use of scarce resources to assure all of our people can operate this vehicle. Consequently the majority of our fire fighters are not proficient in the operation of our 1956 Engine. Benefit - Replacing the 1956 pumper with an all-hazard response engine will give the responding firefighters the ability to handle a wide range of calls with just one apparatus and would make the fire department personnel more efficient because all the necessary equipment would be enclosed in one apparatus. Not only will we be able to perform normal fire suppression but it will also work on extrication, first aid, and have firefighting abilities, we'll be able to respond to initial hazardous material with monitoring and containment equipment. Benefit - An all hazard response engine will also provide for full response cab would accommodate a crew and greater safety of our personnel due to the fewer number of response vehicles at the scene of an incident, creating a less congested area. Benefit - This grant will enable our XXX Fire Department to accomplish its mission, which is to provide the highest level of protection of both lives and property of our firefighters, citizens and communities. Statement of Effect: ----------------------- The XXX Fire Department is seeking AFGP funding to help bring our apparatus in compliance with OSHA and NFPA with up-to-date modern vehicle so our firefighters are safe in all the hazards and situations we respond to when assisting our citizens in our daily operations. The new all-hazardous response engine would give greater pumping capabilities, be NFPA 1901 complaint and able to transport an adequate crew to the scene of an incident to quickly bring an incident under control and/or contain the incident. This award will have the most positive affect on our daily operations and the safety of our firefighters and also fill the gap that the department currently has. This award will also have significant impact on our ability to function safely in hostile highway environments as we affect search and rescue operations on a day-to-day basis. This equipment will have a huge impact on our department's ability to protect lives and property in our community. Our department is very dedicated to protect lives and property, serving our people and we are 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. With the 1956 apparatus replaced by an all-hazardous response engine, protection of lives will be greatly enhanced not only of the public but also of our firefighters as they respond to the scene. An up to date NFPA 1901 compliant vehicle will make for a more unified and quick response, which will save lives and property. 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 to our department. Thank you for your consideration. XXX Fire Department |
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