Round 3 Status / News

[HazMan]

Any idea of when round 3 of awards will begin or will be announced?

Anyone receiving new emails from FEMA?

Any new news?

[jcchief]

Sitting around
Drinking a bud
Waiting for a call

[timm1960]

I thought they were making annoucements every 2 weeks?
I could be wrong.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

[jmkfire]

I was thinking that round 3 would be on or around Aug. 5th.
I could be wrong though!:p
Stay Safe!!!!!!

[Flochief]

I agree with John, I think the next round is Aug 5th. My dept was asked the five questions and we returned the bank form. I have my fingers crossed!!!;)

[jmkfire]

Ditto! Just waiting to see if we are there on the next round. Haven't heard a peep.
Good Luck and hope to see ya there!
Stay Safe!!!!!!!

[webteam]

Round 3 will be posted here on Sunday night most likely assuming all goes as planned. Presumably, that process will continue with new announcements every two weeks or so.

Thanks
WebTeam

[ffpm43]

The info is posted in another forum, cant remember which one, but a recent update of 8/1 that states the round 3 grants wont be posted until after Wednesday to allow for the correct political representatives to contact their depts. Good luck to those who got the 5 questions.... maybe Craig Kilbourn can do this for FEMA;)

[LB101]

Webteam

Can you please clarify when grants will be posted based on ffpm43 response to your post.

Thanks!

[webteam]

Presumably it will mid to late next week. Congressional officials are tentatively scheduled to get the list on Monday or so, then they'll have a day or two to make the notifications prior to the public announcement. In some cases, if your representative doesn't notify you (as has happened), those departments may find out through the annoucement online.

Thanks
WebTeam

[jcchief]

Has anybody gotten the call for round 3 yet?

I am camped out by the phone.

[jmkfire]

Recieved this e-mail from my congressmans office today. They will not be notified until Thursday of this week it appears. So I would guess that the 3rd round will not be announced until after that.
Good Luck to all!

[LB101]

Seems as though they are getting further and further off of the 500 every two weeks. I bet this next list will be a big one.

I am curious though, does anyone know why there are 356 names on the USFA list at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/inside-usfa/02awards.cfm when in the two rounds there are only 353? Looks like they added Seattle and two other departments but I can't figure out who or from where.

[webteam]

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 awards will be announced hopefully at the end of this week.

Again, FEMA MUST award the first $150 million by the end of September and they report being on pace to do exactly that.

[LB101]

I don't doubt that they will get it done but does anyone know if it means they have to have the money transferred by then or just awarded?

[webteam]

On the 1st and 15th of each month, FOLLOWING the actual award announcement, those Departments will get the 'official' letter from FEMA letting them know of the award and procedures. Departments will be instructed on the Procurement process through FEMA. They do not get the money for several weeks following the award, or longer, depending on what type of transaction it is and whats being purchased.

WebTeam

[jmkfire]

If I remember correctly; It has to be awarded by that date.

[webteam]

$150 Million must be awarded by the end of September. The rest of the money can be awarded through the rest of the Fiscal year, although officials are working to make all awards by the end of December.

[ORFD-Admin]

I haven't gotten the five questions or the 1199a form. Does that mean we probably won't get a grant this time? This was my first time writing a grant and the first time that our dept has ever even applied for a grant and my dept has been around since 1937. I really wanted to do a great deal for my dept, as they have never even applied before. Can anyone help me concerning info on the questions and the 1199a? I didn't even know what an 1199a was until I looked it up on usfa's web.

[jmkfire]

"I haven't gotten the five questions or the 1199a form. Does that mean we probably won't get a grant this time?"
Hang in there! This is going to go till December. We are all on pins and needles awaiting any kind of word from FEMA. Last year was the first time that I had ever done a grant application. No one else wanted to touch it. I didn't find out about the grant until they were already taking the apps. So jumped in with both feet (no research or education of the process) and we were turned down. It was a very good learning process. This year was totally opposite. I new what FEMA expected and I had time to research and prepare for this years grants. Your efforts are to be commended no matter the outcome! You might want to check the thread about questions and e-mails. There is some pretty good info there. The SF1199a is the Direct-Deposit form that FEMA will need to electronically deposit your award. It has to be taken to the bank and the appropriate info and signatures entered and then returned to FEMA. You would also recieve an e-mail informing you to take it to the bank when/if they release it. We have recieved both the questions and D-D e-mail and still waiting, so hang in there. This could be a long ride.
Good Luck to all!

[HazMan]

Well, the week is running out. Still no news about 3rd round announcements or Dear John letters. I wonder what the hold up is.

At least someone could come up with a new treasure hunt like the eXt thing to keep us busy while we wait.

[Fire Possum]

Heart attacks are the major cause of fatalities for firefighters. I think I am going to have one due to the suspense caused by this ridiculous waiting. I know they have to be politically correct, but notifying the "Politikans"first is unreasonable. I know they approved the money for the program, but they should let the individual fire departments get the big rush of adrenaline by hearing it first. As to the "Dear John" letters, I say send them out now and stop the mystery. They obviously know who has been approved and who hasn't. Also, why aren't they calling the "maybe" applicants and asking them if they will accept a lesser amount should some element of their application not be eligible. Just wondering!!!!!

[jmkfire]

I just got off the phone with a rep from my congressman's office. We have recieved our grant! We will be in this round of awards!
Just for those of you out there wondering about the ext, we did not have it by our app. Gotta go and let everyone know.
Good Luck to All!

[ncvfc17]

Way to go John! Can you share your narrative with the rest of us so we can prepare for next year, should we get the dear John????!!!

Congratulations!!:)

[Fire Possum]

Congrats, John. What did you apply for and how much?

[timm1960]

Good job John!!

Sure glad to hear that the eXt thing is a hoax.

Did you always have the 1199a link?

GOOD LUCK TO ALL

[ORFD-Admin]

;)

Congratulations John!!! Please let us know what you applied for. I've still got my fingers crossed here! Everybody keeps telling me that we won't get it, I just want to prove them wrong. I try to be optimistic about the whole thing!

[HazMan]

WAY TO GO!! I guess you were glad you got the "Dear John (King)" phone call.

This doesn't let you off the hook from posting on these threads. Don't forget your roots!

[irishfirekiller]

It is a sure thing the the replies will come back in letter form
Thats so the fire departments that really need the money to do thier jobs in thier town/cities. I live in a back woods area with a large farming ares to boot. And I'll bet we wont get a thing but we still hold up our heads and love to service oue area.:cool:

[webteam]

Firehouse.com will post the Round 3 recipients list at about 7 a.m. Monday morning.

Congressional leaders, as you see above, now have the list and are beginning the notification process.

Congratulations to all of the Departments awarded thus far. Nearly 400 departments will be awarded close to $30 million in Round 3.

WebTeam

[jcchief]

I just got the phone call. $ 42,768.00 for SCBA, & Thermal Image Camera.

What a relief.

Best wishes to all other applicants.

LDS

[timm1960]

Great job!!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!

[LB101]

John-

Congrats to you and Riley Kansas!!!!!

[jmkfire]

We are also a small vol. dept. in a rural area. I have been able to take a deep breath finally. We applied for the Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Grant. The majority of the grant is for air packs and a cascade system, some turnouts for members of the dept. that do not have any. A PPV fan and some training aids. This award will allow us to complete a project that would otherwise take over 10 years to accomplish with our current funding. We applied last year and were unsuccessful. Many said why bother to try again this year and my response was "If we don't try, we would be fools!, what have we got to lose?". I wish everyone the best of luck and hope to see many more of you with the answers you're waiting for soon. Maybe this process with start rolling now.
Good Luck!

[seksffemt]

we were notified by our congressman today at 1303 hours. we are getting a pumper/tanker for our rural fire district. good luck to everyone else, we are another one that had the eXt in our info on our application and we got the email and 1199a on july the 9th. hope this helps everyone out. be safe.:D

[ffpm43]

Great job and congrats to all who have patiently waited.
Im still waiting, but no dear westchester letter yet. Maybe tomorrow, or not we'll see.

[ffmedic1161]

Congratulations to all the grant recipients. And thank you for sharing your success with us. It leaves, at least myself, a sense of Hope for the future rounds of Awards. Good Luck to those waiting and BE SAFE.

[ttjjss]

We got our phone call from our congressman about 12pm on thursday the 8th. we also had the ext, and got the 1199 email on july 9th.
52000 + federal share for complete turnout sets , scba, ppv fan, pass devices and hose
good luck to everyone else...
Stay Safe !!!!
Tyler

[ORFD-Admin]

Can someone please tell me how I would know if I have an ext and what it is? Is it e-mailed? Sorry, but this is my first time doing this and nobody here at my dept can tell me anything about it b/c they have never applied for one until I did. Congrats to all of you who received grants- Be very proud of yourselves b/c it's not easy!!!Has anyone received a turn down yet? I am with everyone else, wearing my computer out!!! BE SAFE TO ALL!!!!!! And again Congratulations to all of you who have received your funding!!!!

[jcchief]

Nobody knows if the ext thing has any real merit. We did get the grant and yes the ext is on the application. I have noticed a few posts from ones getting the grant without the ext.

If you want to have a look, go to the application and enter your logon & password. On the lower part of the page you will see a link to see if an application has been started for your department. Click that link and then find your department. The ext is there will be visable only from that page, it is not within the application itself.

I would not put too much stock in the ext thing yet. I do feel the 1199 may be a better indicator. Since these started going out well after the peer review, I doubt if FEMA would send us to the bank to get a form signed then tell us that we did not make the first cut. That being said, only a small percent of the 1199 notices have gone out. I know it is hard to wait (you should have seen me yesterday) but good news will be delivered to hundreds of departments over the next few months.

Hang in there.

LDS

[ORFD-Admin]

Can someone please tell me how I would know if I have an ext and what it is? Is it e-mailed? Sorry, but this is my first time doing this and nobody here at my dept can tell me anything about it b/c they have never applied for one until I did. Congrats to all of you who received grants- Be very proud of yourselves b/c it's not easy!!!Has anyone received a turn down yet? I am with everyone else, wearing my computer out!!! BE SAFE TO ALL!!!!!! And again Congratulations to all of you who have received your funding!!!!

[ORFD-Admin]

I do not know how my message got here twice but anyway, I can't get on my application. I'm not sure if that page is down or what but I'm getting very anxious. I just want to know either way! Thank you JCCHIEF for your info.

[webteam]

Folks

Just remember there are at least five more months to go before all departments know either way.

WebTeam

[car2343]

Got our phone call yesterday from Our Congresswoman. Received $295,000 for turnout gear and RIT equiptment. Good luck to all.

[timm1960]

Way to go. Still waiting on our request.

I guess a few have gotten the Dear John e-mail today.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

[TRFD698]

Got the call this morning from our Congressman's office. We were awarded $80,355 for new extrication equipment.

In case you were wondering, there was no eXt by my contact number.

Congrats to all others and please hang in there everyone else.....

[Chief350]

I've been lurking here for a few weeks watching this grant thing play out. Today I have a good reason to make my first post!

I read on here this morning that the legislators had the Round 3 list, and since we had gotten "THE PHONE CALL" about a month ago I thought we might make it this time around. However, the guy who was listed on the application as contact person is on vacation in Florida! The suspense was killing me so I called Senator Jim Bunning's office, and a person on his staff told me we are receiving a grant for a total of $231,316.00 (Federal share $208,185)! I asked him to fax me the letter ("ain't true until it's written down"), and I'm looking at it right now!

FYI, we are a new Fire District Fire Department resulting from the merger of three small departments. We applied in the catagories on Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety. We applied for new SCBA (to standardize across our three stations), new portable radios to replace our old clunkers (our county just merged and upgraded dispatch centers), individual SCBA face pieces for all of our firefighters, etc.

Needless to say, we are pretty pumped up right now, and the word is getting out (phone rang off the hook all day with calls from vendors - I bet it's just the beginning!).

[ayermedic]

This is worse than a kid waiting for Christmas, at least the kid knows what day Christmas is on! I guess it is on to round 4 and yet another vigil as we wait and see if (round) 4 is the magic number.

[timm1960]

Did you have the "eXt" next to your contact number?

I think this "eXt" is turning out not to be anything to write home to Mom about.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

[busmaster]

Just received an e-mail from our state fire coordinator, who received a notice from the state emergency coordinator, that the governor has announced that 5 depts. here are receiving grants this round. That makes the total here 6 out of 147 so far, and 4 of those had the ext. Still waiting for anything:rolleyes:

[Chief350]

Actually, I don't know if the infamous eXt is there or not! The guy who wrote our grant application has been dealing with this, and although he told me what the password to the application on the web was, I forgot it (Doh!)! Sorry, can't help there, but I read on another thread that the eXt was just how the computer abbreviated "extension".

[ffmedic1161]

UGHHHHHHHHHHH as if i wasnt bald enough already. I was sitting here thinking about NOT getting the Dear John letter and guess what, It's going to be even worse now. Now when i receive an e-mail from FEMA i wont know if it's the question e-mail others have received, the request for the 1199 form,or, the Dear John letter. Oh Well guess it makes it worth waiting for. But i'd rather know we got the grant sooner then later. Hang in there everyone and be ready for the long haul. BE SAFE

[JAMESBENNETT]

If your from the Melbourne Ky Volunteer Fire Department and Benton Sr. Clift sent in your application than the answer is "NO" there is no "eXt" by your contact number. CONGRAT's ON THE GRANT. May your family at the firehouse prosper from this good furtune! Best of luck to all and stay safe!!!:D

[jmkfire]

I recieved the call that our grant application was approved on Thursday, and we do not have the eXt by our phone number!
Good luck to all!

[Chief350]

Originally posted by JAMESBENNETT
If your from the Melbourne Ky Volunteer Fire Department and Benton Sr. Clift sent in your application than the answer is "NO" there is no "eXt" by your contact number. CONGRAT's ON THE GRANT. May your family at the firehouse prosper from this good furtune! Best of luck to all and stay safe!!!:D

Nope, that's not us. Melbourne VFD is a neighboring department, but we both get our mail from the same post office, consequently the address confusion. We are Campbell County Fire Protection District 1.

[JAMESBENNETT]

I found your grant app and yes you do have an "eXt" beside your contact number. There is a second Campbell County F.D. on the list. It shows to be #5 and they do not have the "eXt".

[mikemcdonald]

congrats to everyone!!!!!!

[mjboom]

When is FEMA supposed to give out the "official" announcement for round 3? there are confusing dates listed in the forum. Also, can you call your State Senator and get any info on the process? Seems like some have done this and got info.:confused: :confused:

[toddmcbr]

Round 3 will officially be announced Monday morning on Firehouse.com around 7:00 AM. It will also be posted on FEMA's website sometime tomorrow morning as well.

I personally know a person that works in my senators office and I have called her several times. She has been more than helpful to us.

Good Luck to All!!

TM

[ORFD-Admin]

Who do they call if you will be awarded a grant? I wrote the grant but listed my Chief and a Captain as additional contacts. Just wondering b/c my Chief and Captain are part-time positions. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks!

[EastKyFF]

We got the thumbs down today. Kind of cruel to tell losers at the same time as winners, isn't it?

Congratulations to everybody else. Please fax me a copy of your successful apps so I can trash mine and plagiarize yours!!;)

P.S. Why is FEMA so secretive about their criteria for grants? We heard conflicting things (somebody says no vehicles if you have anything less than 25 yrs old, somebody says only in that category of vehicle, somebody says an FD they know has a '90-some model and got a vehicle grant, etc.) and decided to take our chances. The vehicle was our biggest need, but if we had known we didn't have a snowball's chance in a flashover of getting it, we sure as hell wouldn't have blown the opportunity to apply for something else. We have no shortage of needs.

Combine that with getting zero feedback on our app, and I feel like I'm trying to do an appendectomy blindfolded.

I have no problem with whatever the criteria might be. I would just like credible info on what they are so I can know whether or not to bother. If we won't get a truck with our current circumstances, we would like to know that so we won't keep applying for one.

[jmkfire]

If you have a valid e-mail and phone number, FEMA or your congressional leader should contact you.
Good Luck!

[ORFD-Admin]

If they were to call- who would they ask for, the person who sumitted the grant, or the person listed as additional contacts? I am the Admin. Asst.. and I'm just wondering if they ask for the Chief or what. He is a part time Chief and is not always here and I don't want to miss the call.

[timm1960]

From what I understand, they will contact the person who submitted the application.

Did you electronically apply?

If so the e-mail would come to you.

Hope this helps.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

[ORFD-Admin]

Thank you timm1960. I did apply electronically. I just didn't want to miss a call or whatever. I have only seen about three or four people say they have gotten the turndown letter. I wonder where that stands. I really wish they would let us in on a little more than they have been. Also, how far in advance will they send the five questions and the 1199 if you will be receiving funding?

[jmkfire]

Since you submitted the application, They will ask for you if/when they call. Any e-mails regarding your application will come to the e-mail address that you gave them. You would be the primary contact person! That is how it work here for me. Check your profile on your application page to make sure everything is accurate. That is where your phone # and e-mail address should be. You should be able to edit any info there if it needs to be changed.
Good Luck!

P.S. We recieved the questions 3 1/2 weeks, D-D e-mail 2 1/2 weeks before this round. We got to be in this round.

[ffmedic1161]

I've always said that the only stupid question was one that wasnt asked. So,i'm gonna ask. Where on the application is the e-mail address you gave. I've looked several times at mine and all i can see is the contact phone number. I received the confirmation from FEMA when i sent the application in so i am assuming they have the correct e-mail addy. Any help in locating the e-mail addy on the application would be greatly appreciated. I'd hate to miss out on a grant award for not having the right contact addy. Thanks and BE SAFE

[ORFD-Admin]

I really hate to keep asking so many questions but I don't have anyone else to ask about this- so here goes. I was trying to see if our e-mail address appeared (ffmedic1161's question). I didn't see mine either but what I did find, on the paper application that they asked you to print off, I noticed my home phone number on the printed application but on the electronic application is my dept phone number. I am aware that they asked for multiple numbers but how did they become transposed?

[ncvfc17]

The e-mail address can be seen in your profile.

[farmun751]

I received the 5 question e-mail on July 23rd and promtly responded in the affirmative to all questions. That was the only contact between me and FEMA.

This morning, I came in to the office and first thing I did was check FIREHOUSE.COM for round three winners. Patiently read down the list of Tennessee awardees, and my department was close to the bottom.

But Yippeee !!! We are on the list. $70,000+ for hose and SCBAs. My guys will really be excited.....and so am I.

[jmkfire]

Even though I recieved a call from my Represenative on Thurs., I still had that nagging feeling "I hope this isn't a mistake" and to actually see our dept. on todays list takes that feeling away.
Congrats to all and good luck to everyone still in limbo!

[timm1960]

Good job John King and farmun751.

Several people have asked that those who are awarded post their application, at least the narrative here for all to benefit from.

Please do.



GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

[ALSfirefighter]

EastKY,

The only word of advice I can give you is don't listen to anyone and go for what you need and justify it. We were straight forward and did our own narrative, gave facts and supported our needs and we got a very large grant. I can tell you that we have an apparatus that is only 13 years old but needs to be replaced, so hopefully I'll win my arugment to try to get funding to help do that next year, we just bought a 700,000 dollar ladder to replace the one that rusted out after only 12 years, so we won't be able to replace this one without any help. Good luck to all next year, and congrats on this years winners!!

[jboczek]

To ALSfirefighter:
If you guys can buy a 700,000 dollar ladder truck, you can buy just about anything your department really needs. We struggled for 6 years to pay off a building because a new truck would not physically fit in the old one, plus we did a lot of the work ourselves to be able to afford the building at all. We have a first out pumper that is only 500 gpm and 30 years old. Our next out pumper is 45 years old and won't pass a pump test. Yes, we told FEMA all about that in the narrative, plus a lot of other interesting tidbits. We got the Dear John email anyway. What ever you and all the other better-to-do departments that have gotten and will get grants,said in your narratives, I wish I had that much creativity. I hope each and every one of you told the truth. We did, and it does hurt to be turned down this year as well as last year. We will try again next year.

Congratulations to everybody that gets a grant and really needs it. This is a great program that should have been started years ago. Hopefully it will keep going long enough for everybody to eventually get their piece of the pie.

[ffemt1]

jboczek, I agree with you. $700,000.00 is more money that my department has accumulated in it's 51 year history. We are in the same boat. My firehouse has one 10' door, and one 12' door, and we have 4 trucks, so depending on what we have, we waste time shuffeling trucks to get to the correct one. Not the best situation.

If I bought a truck, and it rusted out in 12 years, I might think about going back to the manufacturer and getting a rebate. Our oldest one is 35 y/o, and we can no longer buy parts for it, but at least it has not rusted out yet. Maybe we didn't pay enough for it? :)

[ffmedic1161]

I found my e-mail addy and profile info. Thanks for the help. Now i'm not sure if it's better or worse. Before i knew they had the right info i could always fall back on * maybe they dont have the right e-mail addy* Now i'll have to use my imaginatin and think of another reason for NOT hearing anything yet. GoodLuck and BE SAFE

[ALSfirefighter]

jboczek & ff_emt1,

Look I'm sorry you didn't get your grants. But before you go shooting off at the hip about a department you know nothing about maybe you should think a little first.

#1. We don't raise money ourselves, we are a municipality which we operate under a budget which comes from tax dollars. The new truck we got, we did so through a bond, not just handing over a $695,000 check. Not that its really any of your business we went through the round and round with Pierce and Smeal and they each blamed each other and said they were not responsible, and around the same time a UL inspector failed our aerial. If we didn't have to get a new ladder yesterday we probably would have looked for help footing that bill. Oh did I happen to mention the numerous other problems that we are also having with apparatus that isn't getting fixed, or the fact that we are peeling lengths of 5" off some of our engines that we won't be replacing anytime soon. While I feel for you, we ride in 2 different areas, and under 2 different conditions.

#2. Now that I stated my opinion on your replies, I gotta add a little of my own. Regardless of what you think we may be able to buy, the majority of that money is to replace and get new PPE. Less then 25% of our department has a full set of PPE. The 25% that does ended up with 6oz Nomex that for most of us has and/or is falling apart with no replacements available. Up till about 3 or 4 years ago, if you wanted to wear bunkers and a hood you had to buy them opn your own...so don't tell me we can buy anything we need. It wasn't until a few people forced their hands to buy new airpacks, we were lugging around Survivair 2.2's that weren't OSHA complient by probably 10 years. You want to come hustle up 10 or 11 stories with me wearing one of those? Or look at your gear disintigrate after being exposed to a little more heat? So pardon my sarcasm, but you have no right to degrade anyone for getting a grant...when you are not from that area. Come and work with me in one of my firehouses and tell me how much money the city has or gives us on building maintenance. Or the fact that if any 1 of our other apparatus goes down within the next 5 years, we won't be replacing it, they are going to run us 1 engine short....You want to tell me I have how much money to play with now?
______________________________ __________
I.A.C.O.J. Bureau of EMS Chairman

[mizflame98]

I have to agree with you ALSfirefighter. We don't know the needs of everyone else and we shouldn't be so judgemental. Granted, I wish my department was picked this round and we are getting frustrated, but we just remind ourselves that as long as we don't receive a "Dear John" letter, we are still in the running.
I hope that the rest of us here could try to be a little more civil towards each other. We are all in the fire service for the same reason regardless of the size of our department and in my opinion we all deserve the best equipment we can possibly get. In a perfect world, we all would recieve funding. But since we live in the real world we must try to prevent this cut-throat competition from becomming a verbal boxing match between us. It makes us all look unprofessional.
Either way, congrats on your award and I hope the funds helps you out as much as it can. I am keeping my fingers crossed for everyone here because we are all brothers and sisters putting our lives on the line and we all deserve the best in order to do our jobs. I know that my message might sound corney but it's something that needs to be said.

[ffemt1]

A non compliant 10 year old SCBA is still better than no SCBA. You can cure the problem by leaving it on the truck and working without, like some departments are forced to do. And believe it or not, some departments only have one engine, so when it breaks down, they really have a problem.

All we are saying is let all get one before some get new ones. But that is just my opinion.

Congtratulations on your well deserved grant.

[ffmedic1161]

I dont understand where all the bitterness is coming from. I have NEVER seen a fire department that DIDNT have needs. Every fire department needs something. If theres one out there that doesnt then it shouldnt be there because theres always room for improvement in this line of work. I think everyone was given an equal chance to apply for grant money. Some may have stated their case better then others,or,just flat out needed it more. In any case i'd like to see every department that applied receive an award,but, thats never going to happen because theres always a need. We are all here for the same reason. To protect life and property. Would you not help another department if you were asked to? I know i would be the first to jump in and lend a hand. Even if they received an award and my department didnt. This process is hard on all that dont get an award. My department is still waiting to hear one way or the other and it's killing me. BUT, i still congratulate all the depts that have received funding. And regardless of the outcome i will continue to do so. Remember firefighting is a brotherhood,but, we dont have to fight like family :). Good Luck to those still in the running. And to those who arent, I hope you dont get discouraged and try again next year. BE SAFE.

[jboczek]

ALSfirefighter, and anybody else, I apologize for saying some of the things I did. I don't normally get so upset but we all know how much effort gets put in a grant application and how much we all anticipate our projects getting funded. I thought we should have at least made the first cut but we didn't. Guess we don't know the right politicians.
Congratulations to everybody that has and will get some new equipment, training or whatever else will be funded. We'll try again next year and the year after that.

[jcchief]

Just a thought for those thinking that you need to be politically connected to get the grant. I do not know any congresspeople nor did I even writeor call asking for their support of our application. I felt that this grant was too important for the fire service as a whole to attempt to corrupt the process with any influence whatsoever. Meaning that I feel each application should stand or fall on its own merit.

Happily, we did get funded, but for a modest request. I think that the request from some departments may be the problem. In looking at the aggregate amount requested, it seems like a lot of small department decide to shoot for the moon. I can understand that they may feel this is their one shot at that big fancy new apparatus, but when their call volume, population and area were examined it may have difficult to justify some of these request. I know of one small Texas department which requested a new engine at $175000.00 with a population of about 1200 and less than 100 calls per year, they got the Dear John letter. Perhaps asking for a bare bones truck would have been more readily accepted.

My theory to getting this grant is simple. First describe your situiation and your realistic request. Next show the reviewers that your department has the manpower to use the requested equipment, and that you can handle the management of federal funds. I know of departments who will not spend all of the alloted money from last year's grant by the deadline. Finally, be sure to identify your goals & objectives. If there are not clear benchmarks as to accomplishments, it will be difficult for a reviewer to fund your request.

If I know the government each reviewer or group of reviewer will be audited or evaluated. They will need to show adhearence to strict criteria as to their grading. While not perfect they must have some direction as to how to grade applications. And also remember that although we may not agree with all the awards, these men and women took time away from their lives (without pay) and worked dilligently for their fellow firefighters. Any other agency would have just contracted the review process out and taken the money from the awards.

I know that some may feel that I am defending the process because I got the grant but before anybody jumps all over me for my comments, look back at my pre-award comments which said the same thing.

lds

[farmun751]

Last year, I prepared our FIRE grant and requested funding to replace our First-Out engine, a 1968 Ward Lafrance. It is ready for retirement, or, to be assigned to parade duty. In the grant, I really thought I expressed and discussed our needs to the fullest extent. But, never the less, we were not awarded a grant last year. After calculating how little money (as a percentage of the total available) would be allocated to firefighting vehicles, we didn't stand much of a chance anyway.

Last Fall, I thought really hard about the departments that received a 2001 grant. How many calls they must have made, and favors they asked for. Who knew who, and who knew what on who. I was convinced it was all rigged, and only the departments that paid big money for a grant writer to compose their request would be rewarded.

But it's not that way at all. One of my neighboring fire chiefs was on the peer review panel last year and this year. He has told me that the narrative makes or breaks your request. You have to remember that the peer review is made up of people in the fire/emergency service. You should explain your request in the narrative as if they totally understand what you are asking for. You don't have to go into detail on what a PASS device is and what it does. They already know. You just need to explain why it is you need it, and why you haven't been able to get it yet.

That's what I did in our grant this year. I didn't hire anybody to help, I didn't pester other people to do it for me. I didn't approach it as a done-deal, with no chance of getting it. I just did the best I could and thankfully we were listed in Round Three.

I can understand why some are bitter. But I think after a little while, you'll understand that everyone can't get everything they ask for. But that doesn't prevent you from asking again, and again, and again.....

[jboczek]

ALSfirefighter, and anybody else, I apologize for saying some of the things I did. I don't normally get so upset but we all know how much effort gets put in a grant application and how much we all anticipate our projects getting funded. I thought we should have at least made the first cut but we didn't. Guess we don't know the right politicians.
Congratulations to everybody that has and will get some new equipment, training or whatever else will be funded. We'll try again next year and the year after that.

[BFD101]

jcchief is correct in his assessment of departments that really go overboard on some of their requests. Some departments have difficulty identifying needs over wants. I know one that applied last year and tried to come as close to the $750,000 maximum request amount allowed. Get real, guys... They also were asking for two new custom engines with 5 or 6 man cabs when they already have 10 trucks and are lucky to get five personnell on the first alarm....now, you do the math and tell me why a lower cost but just as effective commercial pumper wouldn't serve their NEEDS. The only difference between them and us is that we know we only have five guys in town during the day and that someone has to drive the other trucks, and that a $140,000 1250 gpm pumper sprays as much water as a $240,000 1250 gpm pumper.

[ffpm43]

Some may have seen my post in a different thread, and the point is simple and remains this.... Take baby steps first! The prior arguments of funding depts that have plenty, or why should prevention even matter when you cant start the 1906 horse drawn steam pumper to get to the fire are arguments that are based at the simple realization of taking little bites at the problem.

Look at the base of the problem first: you live on a swamp,and you really think its tiime to repalce the station. Dont ask for the funding to build the station on the swamp...fix the swamp so it can support the station. In otherwords...utilize community surveys, the USFA loves that stuff, and it truly allows you to see what your needs are, and how to go about funding them.

Good luck to those who got it, and those who did not, keep trying! it will happen eventually.

[ffemt1]

I don't think you should be forced into saying, "I have just completed an extensive demographic and economic study to determine the location of the closest qualified fire engine technician (blacksmith) qualified to replace the ground contacting "shoes" of the engine I want to replace. The results of that study show that there are only 4 organizations (blacksmith shops)in the US who are EPA compliant (engine and shop exhaust), OSHA compliant (availability of muzzle to prevent biting), use DOT compliant materials (horseshoe material), NFPA qualified (took certified class in re-shoeing a horse)and who have the ability to complete the required repairs in the required timeline. The closest is 943.74 miles from the engine's storage location. Since transportation to and from the repair facility will take the engine out of service for more than a month ( daily riding average from NQHA), the purchase of a new engine is our only option. After 97 years of faithful service, our 1906 pumper should be replaced."

I believe saying, "I have a 1906 horse drawn pumper that we can not but parts for anymore. We need to replace it." should be enough.

Just my opinion.

[ffpm43]

Point well taken, but my point was that sure, everyone has older equipment that absolutely needs replacement. No question about it! It is unfortunate that we all cant do it though. My request last year was to replace a vehicle, although not all that old (7 yrs) it had extremely high mileage, and the down time if the unit caused severe hardships on the surrounding communities. I just happened to be one of three ALS units (at the time) that served the Far West Cook County region of greater suburban chicago. Super populated and the system is over used. After great disapointment of being rejected last year, it forced us into looking at other options to fix the problem, such as alternative ALS capabilities. Non transport als engines were the less expensive option. We have the engine; now equip it, for $95K less than a new vehicle. We looked at the foundation and are building upon it.
My community is fortunate, we have fairly modern equipment that is usually well maintained. I do feel for those areas and departments that do not have the equipment, manpower or basic tools to effectively do the job... but will that area benefit truly with a new pumper, that can deliver water to the fire scene, but not to the seat of the fire?
As for the specifics of the language used in the grant process, remember it is your peers from around the country that judge theese appications. There are Key wordds and statements that they look for and unfortunately I believe that unless you are a student of the needs and wishes of the NFA, USFA and FEMA and thier programs, you may be overlooked. I still dont know As we have yet to hear either way.
Again, please dont take this to heart, just one guys opinion.