mysterious "eXt" appeared on our app

[indiana_ff_emt]

OK, call me crazy but I have to share this. I’ve withheld it too long.

After the first round of awards was announced I started to log onto FEMA’s site every day with our VFD’s username and password. I wanted to check to see if anything was changing on our login area and just review our app to see if there was anything that I could beat myself up over. I clicked on view application then I clicked on review application. I noticed that I was listed as a contact person and after the station phone number there is an “eXt” right after it with no space between it and the phone number. It was a small e, big X and small t. I thought to myself, I don’t remember putting that in there. We don’t have extension numbers at our station.

Before this incident I had learned how to search any state to see which departments submitted (or I should say started) a grant. Well I went in and searched Indiana and Illinois. You can do this under the “check to see if someone has already started an application for your fire department” link. Just put in the letter “a” in the search criteria and choose your state. Well I started to notice other departments that have “eXt” after their contact numbers. Hmmm…ok…..I checked the list of the first round award winners. Hmm...most of them have “eXt” after their phone number. Weird. Only a few didn’t have “eXt”. So I decided to run through both states of Indiana and Illinois and write down all the states that have “eXt”. After the second round winners came out, most of the departments that received an award were on my list. OK, this was getting interesting. There are still departments that are on my list that have not received awards so I’m watching the next award session to see if they are or not.

I can’t believe something like “eXt” in the application form could signify an award or any other thing. But I do know that I didn’t put it there and someone else or a computer did. Of course I was getting more excited as this went on because our department had an “eXt” by our phone number (especially since we just blew the motor in our 1975 pumper). But the other day ago I went in to check to make sure my e-mail address was correctly listed with FEMA. I clicked on save and after that the “eXt” went away. Uh oh! Oh well, I’m sure FEMA has other means of keeping track of who gets an award and who gets a “Dear John letter”.

Anybody else notice the “eXt” thing? Even if it just means something to do with a phone extension why would it be put there if I didn’t select it? I’m not convinced that it has anything to do with an award. I would like to think so but I doubt it. FEMA isn’t going to slip up like that. I just wanted to share this information with everyone.

WWW.PVFD.NET

[TRFD698]

I believe the eXt had something to do with an extension for contacts phone numbers, and how the computer reads the numbers. What I'm thinking is that the applicant could have just typed their number like this 555-555-1234 x 123. The x 123 being for extension 123, which is also written as ext 123.

So when the computer reads the contact number it added the "e and the t", because it was reading the "x" as an extension.

I ran the same search for my state, which is Connecticut. When the contact numbers come up I found the eXt came up. But if you look there is a FD with just a plan old ext there.

[HazMan]

As I commented on in "The Missing Link" thread, I had the eXt show up after the phone number. I deleted it and hit save and it went away. The screen then showed that I should print the direct deposit form and mail it to the contact.

I haven't heard anything yet from anyone so I haven't let it raise my hopes.

As Webteam helped clear up yesterday, I don't think we should be looking at these things as signs of receiving an award or a Dear John letter.

Albeit, your findings are interesting. I think I'll just use my time to practice crossing my fingers....

[TLFD40]

Somebody from another Dept that got a Grant on the 2nd round and mentioned that ext thingy, he said that if that is on your app, you are getting a grant... I will take it with a grain of salt... If i can just remember my password to get back in the app area.

[webteam]

The eXt shows up if you put an Extension number with your application. We tested it on our own department, HazMan is correct, if you type in an Extension, it shows up ... if you erase it, it dissapears.

TLFD40 ... that is a good Urban Legend though :)

[indiana_ff_emt]

I'm not taking the eXt thing as an award or no award. Just thought I would bring it up. Sorry I posted a new thread before seeing the other thread. I just thought it seemed interesting. I won't believe it until I see the money in our banking account!

Good luck everyone! I hope you get what your department needs.

WWW.PVFD.NET

[JAMESBENNETT]

Well, I thought it sounded pretty crazy when I first read your post. Then I went though and did my state, Texas, and here is the results: 22 grants awarded, 21 with eXt in the contact box, 1 grant with nothing in the contact box, and 87 departments overall with eXt in the contact box. The good news is mine is one of the 87, but the bad news is that still sounds to easy! O'well, back to the waiting game! P.S. for the WEBMASTER, I did not put an extention number on my application.

[jboczek]

Just for the record, mine has the eXt on it and I didn't put an extension on the app either.

[HazMan]

Ok, I admit it - I haven't spent all of my time crossing my fingers like I said I was going to. Since I didn't put an extension on my application either, I thought it would be interesting to search my state as well.

Under "search for others" you can type "fire" under the department name and it pretty much brings up all of the departments in your state (provided you selected a state).

Of the 148 departments listed for our state, only 15 had an "eXt" under the phone number. Nobody from our state (VT) has even been awarded a grant yet.

Here is the interesting part -- I deleted the eXt from my forms when they showed up the other day. However, the "eXt" still shows up next to our name on the search.

Now, I'm certainly not caving in and saying that the eXt means you are getting an award. However, I am saying that there must be a reason that some departments have the eXt and some don't.

Could be that those are the departments getting the "Dear John" letter... you never know.

Now, back to crossing my fingers.....

[jmkfire]

I didn't put an ext # on our app and it doesn't have eXt beside our phone #. I base my hopes on knowing that the questionaire e-mail stated we made it pass the peer review and then FEMA requesting the direct-deposit form from us. Other than that, haven't heard a peep from them:( Still waiting.
Good luck to all!

[captfire]

I am hoping that the eXt has nothing to due with who gets
grants and who does not. In Missouri, out of 500 departments
there was very few that had the eXt next to them. I also seen
a couple of departments that did enter an ext after there phone
number. The only people who know what the eXt stands for is FEMA.
I know I'm just waiting to hear if we get our grant approved or not.

Thanks and be safe

[jmkfire]

I hope you're right about that not meaning anything, (I think it doesn't mean anything) of the 350+ KS depts on the list only a handfull have it. I know that there are more than a couple of handfulls of depts in MO & KS that need the assistance.
Good Luck!

[HazMan]

I'm sure has absolutely nothing to do with the award. I think that everyone is just getting anxious (including me).

I am, however, interested in why it happened to just a handful. I'm hoping that it is not there because I goofed or missed something on my application.

Sounds like a good research project for Webteam (like they don't have enough to do).

[captfire]

After doing a little more research, of the 13 departments
in Missouri that have been awarded a grant, 9 of them had
the eXt next to there number. 4 of the departments didn't have
the eXt, but 2 of the department were not listed. I am still sticking
to my hope that it has nothing to due with who gets grants and who does not.

Thanks and be safe

[MJinFla]

After checking Florida, 8 of 9 recipients had the eXt.

Now, I submitted grants for three different Departments and they all have the eXt after the phone number.

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say that maybe it has to do with when they were submitted. You know they had that EXTENSION of time for five days after the system became overwhelmed. Out of the three I submitted, all were submitted during that five day period. :eek:

[jmkfire]

I think you might be correct. We got our app in during the first deadline and we don't have the eXt. The County Fire Dist. here submitted their application during the extension and they have the eXt by them. That would make a lot of sense to me.:p

[engel702]

eXt= extra tension!!

Checking our state however all of the announced winners have the ext behind their contact phone number, with the exception of Seattle Fire which hasn't been listed but issued their notice. We have another 20 appearing with ext by their number. Your guess is as good as the next persons. N(ext) week will tell

:D :D :D

[HazMan]

Good thinking, MJinFla. Ours was submitted using the extension period as well. I'll buy that reasoning!!!

Now, back to crossing fingers....

[TRFD698]

I submitted my Dept's application @ 3:47PM (EST) on 4/5/2002. Which was a litte more then an hour before the deadline, the day the application was due.

I have received a 5 question e-mail from FEMA, and there is no eXt next to my Dept's name.

[ffpm43]

As for Illinois, the eXt certainly seems to be relative to the depts that recieved or have been anounced as recipients. I hope so cause its next to mine:) My app was filed prior to the extension, as were a few of the others listed as eXt. This urban ledgend stuff is rediculous, but we all need something to grab on to. Keep 'um crossed and good luck to all!

[seksffemt]

after reading this thread, i too did check our app and found the mysterious "eXt". I have also received 2 calls from Fema this week getting our application info updated due to a problem with our banking info that was changed after submitting the 1199 the first time. i believe that mess is now straightened out and now we are playing the waiting game as others are. Good luck everyone.

BTW, we submitted our app on 3/29/2002, before the extension period.

[toddmcbr]

The theory surely holds up for Iowa, I check them and 100% of the departments that have received funds do have eXt behind their phone numbers. There are also a few extra ones that have it, including mine:). I also found this to be very odd and didnt think this could symbolize an award. So I cross-referenced the two lists in an additional 15 states. I would say that 98-99% of the names on the award list did have the eXt behind their phone numbers. To me the theory seems pretty logical (at least I hope).

Todd
:)

[ttjjss]

I did the check in arkansas. i got more hits by using the letter e than with the letter a. out of nearly 500 applications, 36 have the ext beside the phone number. Both departments that have already been announced have this . i like this therory because ours has the eXt also. On july 24th i was called by FEMA and answered the 5 questions and was told to expect a confirmation email in 3 to 4 weeks. i also asked and was told we scored a 94 on our application.
Good Luck to everyone
Stay Safe !!
Tyler

[seksffemt]

Just got done researching kansas as the first post in this thread had done, i found out that 30 departments out of 300+ have the eXt in their application. I also found that all 6 departments from ks that received an award have the eXt on their application. Might be good news for some of us.

Poster john king- if you read this, are you from riley county dist#1, if so you have the ext also. i hope im not reading to much into this, but it is nice to dream a little...:eek:

[jmkfire]

No, our dept is Riley FD. We are in Riley Co. I am also on the Co. dept. I did the app for us and I have talked the the Co. Chief much about this as well. We don't have the eXt and we recieved the questionaire and direct-deposit e-mails.(FEMA recieved our DD form last week). I have also spoke to the Co Chief who told me that they turned in their app during the extension period and he has not recieved any thing from FEMA yet. He was ready to congratulate us on getting our grant, but I had to remind him that we haven't recieved any official notification yet. That is what lead me to believe that the eXt was for depts that submitted during the extension period. If the ext is a sign of who gets grants, that would not be a good sign for KS depts. I think there were just over a couple dozen out of 300+ or so with the ext. I still have my hopes up with knowing that we made it pass the peer review and that FEMA requested the SF1199a direct-deposit form from us.
Good Luck to you and hope you are successful.

[indiana_ff_emt]

We submitted our app on 3-30 (before the extension) and we had an "eXt" on our app until I modified some phone numbers and it disappeared. Also the app will not let me change my title to Mr. It leaves me as a Ms. I've tried saving it as Mr. but when I go back it still has Ms. Maybe they know something I don't! :eek:

WWW.PVFD.NET

[PeteLO655]

The first phone call I had with a FEMA rep, told me that almost everyone was coming in as Ms. She was not sure why. Hmm, interesting topic on this ext thing. What meaning it has to anything other than a telephone? I don't know.

Good luck all,
Pete

[webteam]

FEMA officials advised us today that the eXt has no bearing on whether a Department may or may not get a grant.

Based on what we (at FH) have observed, it may be that the reason all the winners have it appearing is because those records have been edited after the first contact.

But again, the official FEMA answer is that it has no bearing. Some posters are correct, that the law of averages doesn't work out in that a significantly larger number of Departments would have it if it had any bearing on future awards, since nearly 7,000 (more than 1/3) of all Departments who submitted applications will get a grant.

Keep the questions coming and we'll try to get the answers from FEMA as quickly as possible.

Thanks
WebTeam

[engel702]

We submitted on 3-24-02.
eXt was on application when I searched state,so I went in and checked profile and attempted to correct Ms and it disappeared.??? we have not been contacted for any reason, time will tell.

Terry

[jboczek]

I don't think FEMA is going to let out any of their "secrets" about any applications before a dept. gets official notice from them. What are they supposed to say - "oh, yeah, if you have the eXt you'll get a grant?". Like a lot of people have already said, be patient - and pray.

[640SATFD]

Fellow Grant writers,

I'm with you on the eXt thing. It does seem interesting. Also thank you Web Team for the FEMA explanation. My question is that I was feeling so good about seeing our Dept. with the eXt notation I was logged on again looking things over. This time I have noticed a change since this morning. IF you do a dept. search you will see that many Dept. Contact numbers have been Blacked Out since this morning. Any idea on this one? We seem to all be having so much fun with this treasure hunt I figured I'd through this one out there too. I must admitt this POST is much better reading then those last week that seemed to be complaining. I like ot think of this entire GIFT as a lottery game. I started with nothing and I may end with nothing. But it was a great learning experience and some good hard work.

Thanks to all the forums posted, WEBTEAM and especially all the people working at FEMA to make this thing a success.

[jmkfire]

You got to admit, it does take the boredom out of the waiting.:p It lets your fingers take a break from being crossed and cramped! The online process sure makes it FUN!
Good Luck to all!

[PeteLO655]

What do you mean by Blacked Out? You mean not there at all?

Pete

[JAMESBENNETT]

O.K. I was bored and did the research and here it is:

So far 353 grant awarded or 100%
322 grants with the "eXt" or 92%
20 grants with no "eXt" or 5.6%
8 grants with "nothing" or 2.1%
3 grants from paper app's or .3%

Well I don't know much, but I think there is something there. It maybe that it has to do with the application that have been updated by Fema for some reason, but who knows? Some of the "eXt's" do have numbers following them and one even said "Direct". Well I will go back to watching the clock now waiting for "The Middle of this Week" or so. Best of luck to everyone!:p

[Almarante51]

Interesting... We also have the eXt, but I also have a valid extension on my application. It is interesting to note though that it is there. Of course, Now I am somewhat skeptically looking forward to Wednesday. Goodluck to everyone out there, we all know how much hard work we put into our apps this year!

[Fire Possum]

One thing will be certain, if a grant is rejected, the grant writer will be blamed for it. In our case, the County goverment was not interested in applying. The volunteers offered to write a grant application and the county said "what the heck, do it". Now, the county is expecting the money and will be really "hacked off" if it isn't approved.

Such goes the luck of volunteers. However, if approval is given, the county will take credit for pushing it through.

[HazMan]

As mentioned earlier, only 15 of the 148 applications in Vermont have the eXt next to them. As of yet, nobody has received an award from this state.

Ours does have an "eXt". Additionally, I just received the 5 question email this morning stating "favorable peer review".


I think I'm developing early signs of carpal tunnel from crossing my fingers for so long.

Still crossing......

[ffmedic1161]

Hazman good luck with getting the grant award. It's good to see that someone is hearing something. Seems like the longer we all wait the more anxious we get. As far as the carpal tunnel goes.......if you find a cure let us know. I'm sure we're all gonna need it before this is over. Good luck to you and all and BE SAFE

[Almarante51]

I think I am going to aviod my contact emailbox for the next 7-10 days.

[GM05]

Found some time on my havds while waiting around for the FEMA call so I ran a check on Arizona. Out of 150 departments, 14 have the eXt notation and 7 of them have been announced as receiving a grant. No announcements for any department who did not have an eXt. It will be very interesting to see what round 3 brings.
We are patiently (?) waiting. We have an eXt, but I'm not telling anyone yet - just in case.

[jbrandy]

Has anyone gone through to detrmine how many companies have the ext notation? Maybe this # is significant. 15 in the state of MD(including both winners so far)

[webteam]

Folks:

We have reviewed the number of Departments with the eXt. Roughly 10% of applications have them, not all award winners thus far do, and others actually have a phone extension # with them.

There are MANY MORE Departments that will get awards than have the eXt next to their grant right now. A substantial number.

In California alone, where 552 Departments applied from, about 60 Deparments have it. Roughly 10%, and some of those have actual Extension numbers. And while most Departments that HAVE been awarded grants have it, some DO NOT. The 10% seems to be the case for most states. Its possible that it appears because those departments have been contacted in some form, even if just to verify some information or edit their profile to put in correct information. Neither would be an indication of an award, otherwise ALL of the winners would have it next to their name.

Its very random. Based on 7,000 awards being distributed, more than 1/3 of applicants will get an award.

Our only hope is Departments do not get their hopes up based on the 'eXt' and should base their hope only on contact from your Congressional leader or Governor, or an official FEMA Announcement. We know everyone is excited to find out about the award one way or another, but unless you hear from those representatives or the official announcements, it could be hard to predict what will happen.

-WebTeam

[640SATFD]

Guys,

Just a note to see what's up with all Grant Writers today. Not much for notes. Is everyone too busy holding their breath? I'm writing this post to find out if anyone other than me noticed that around noon time on Monday that a number of dept. Contact phone numbers were erased from the system search. Any speculation on this on. I know in vermont of the 158 applications 30 of these conact person's numbers went away. Of coarse the 14 in VT that have the eXt thing were not any of these. Any words of wisdom out there this AM. Well good luck to all and let hope we hear some new news before the weekend.

[car2343]

After reading all the posts on the ext, I decided to check my application and the ext has appeared on my application. It was not there originally.

[toddmcbr]

Yesterday. I logged in and noticed that in my state a few more eXt have appeared. Still not sure what it means but this waiting game is killing me. It's like waiting for an ambulance or fire truck to arrive. 1 minute seems like one month. Everytime the phone rings I think it might be the call and then it's just some telemarketer who I end up hanging up on anyway.

Todd

[ffmedic1161]

11:00 and alls wellllll (yeah right). OK i did some research on my state. Mainly because i got tired of watching the e-mail alert pop up everytime i get an e-mail. Whether it has any meaning or not, Heres what i found in West Virginia.

Out of 268 applications 23 of them have the mysterious "eXt".
So Far 3 departments in West Virginia have received an award.
Out of those three, all of them had the "eXt", and one had a valid extension number.

My Department has the "eXt" beside the contact number. Not holding on to much faith in the theory that it actually means something,but,it is a good thought. I was beginning to think that the "eXt" meant extinguished, However, Since there has been departments receive an award and have the "eXt" beside it. SOOOOOOO time to think of another theory i guess. It will give me something else to think about at least.

GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE

[HazMan]

Hey 640SATFD,

VT is now up to 18 eXt's. For something that is not supposed to mean anything.... it sure is changing. Yes, more blanks are showing up.


Things that make you go "hmmmmmmmmm"

SAT, have you received the 'questions' email?

[jbrandy]

In MD,2 additional companies got the "eXt" bug today and some have lost their phone service. One company I know has had the 1199 link for over two weeks and has the "eXt" and just got the questionaire yesterday.

Keep the faith and good luck to all.

[ncvfc17]

We have the eXt, but have not received the questions nor do we have the link. THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

[ncvfc17]

I just searched through NJ, my home state.

501 applications, 31 eXt's, 5 awards in the first two rounds, ALL HAD eXt's.........we'll see!!!!

I am going to get fired for all these internet hits!

Good luck.

[JAMESBENNETT]

ncvfc17, I know the feeling. We have this "eXt" next to our number as well and have not seen or heard a word. Before this is over, the "COO-COO's NEST" will be full of "FIRE FLY's" CONGRAT'S JOHN, and best of luck to the rest of us!:D

[ffemtmjb]

May be a stupid question, but how are you guys searching through the apps from your states to find the mysterious eXt's?

[Ira Brown]

To add fuel to this fire...in Louisiana we have 54 departments with eXt (up 3 from yesterday). Of these, 8 have been awarded grants and all had eXt. I wrote last year's grant app (awarded for fire fighting equipment) and wrote this year's as well. We have eXt by our name but no questionaire, phone call or anything. I know ya'lls feelings on the waiting game, it about killed me last year...at least my wife was going to kill me over it due to my impatience. I have had to drastically tone down anything associated with a grant this year or run the risk of permanent exile to the dog house. Good luck to everyone.

Anyone out there a former or retired Marine?

[car2343]

Noticed the ext on our application today and just received word from our congressional office that we were awarded the largest award of any New York Department. The waiting is finally over. Good luck to the rest of you, hope you all get your grants

John Pappas
Assistant Chief
Peekskill Fire Department:)

[toddmcbr]

Originally posted by ffemtmjb
May be a stupid question, but how are you guys searching through the apps from your states to find the mysterious eXt's?

When you log into view your application there will be a link that allows to check to see if someone else in your department has started an application. Then under department name just type one letter ( I have been using F - for fire). Select your state and set the number of results to 40 and click search. It will then return a list of alomst everyone in your state that has applied for a grant and you will be albe to the eXt behind the phone numbers.

Todd

Also....Called Senator Harkin's office and they have not a seen a list for Round 3 as of 2:30 p.m on 8/8/02.......

[JAMESBENNETT]

The stats for Texas went up today as well. We now have 91 department with the "eXt", up from 87 on Monday. Of the just short of 1000 apps 161 now have blanks in the contact box.

[ffemtmjb]

Thanks for the info.

Four of the five departments receiving grants in Washington have the eXt. The notable exception is Seattle FD.

It will be interesting to track this trend and see how much validity it ends up having. My FD has the eXt, so I'm hoping it is worth something.:)

The fact that we are willing to go to such lengths to find a little glimmer of hope should prove to the powers that be that this is a desperately needed program.

Good luck to everyone and hope the wait is over soon.

[toddmcbr]

Thanks for the info WebTeam. You are doing a good job of keepin us all updated.

Just for your info, My department does have the eXt and we in no way have been contacted by FEMA regarding any 1199 form nor the 5 questions.

Also, if anyone wants to discuss this, my Yahoo ID is toddmcbr and my MSN is toddmcbr@hotmail.com

TM

[webteam]

Here's the latest update:


Firehouse.com has randomly reviewed Round 3 winners from eight states and compared that list, with the state lists in the USFA system being discussed here.

Of the 56 winners in those states in the upcoming round, about 32 have the 'eXt' next to their name, or have the phone number field cleared. Presumably, that's because their file was edited or some other odd technical thing.

More importantly, 24 winning departments DO NOT have it by their name. So not having it is obviously no indication that your Department WON'T be getting an award. Its also no indiciation that it will, at least in the very next round, since there are many other departments that have it that aern't on the Round 3 list.

Once the list is released following Congressional notfications (which have already been taking place today), everyone can keep doing the math :) But its still a fairly random occurance that doesn't mean you're in, or more importantly, out, for the upcoming rounds.

Keep the questions coming and we'll try to research things and get the answers you're looking for.

WebTeam

[indiana_ff_emt]

Originally posted by ffemtmjb

The fact that we are willing to go to such lengths to find a little glimmer of hope should prove to the powers that be that this is a desperately needed program.

I'll agree to that!

WWW.PVFD.NET

[toddmcbr]

Still not sure if the theory has any truth. But I went through our state again and got some new statistics

547 Depts that applied
59 Depts that have an eXt behind phone number (Up approx 10-15 from a few days ago)
18 Depts that have received a grant (Including Rd 3)

Of those 18, 16 depts had the eXt. However, the other two DID have phone numbers in their contacts. They were not blank.

To answer your next question, I received the Round 3 winners from someone that received an award in round 3.

Anyway....I'm going off of this "Glimmer of Hope" because my department does gave the eXt but no 1199 or 5 questions.

TM

[ORFD-Admin]

Looks like you have been doing some research. I have the eXt beside my contact number.I have my fingers crossed!! Because I so much want to get this grant like everyone else does! I haven't gotten the 1199 or the five questions either. I wonder if could also possibly have anything to do with the extra money that could possibly be awarded by Pres Bush. Any little glimmer of hope helps.... or does it? Just anxious and hopeful! Good Luck to everyone! Be safe!If anyone gets the Dear John letter please post so we know where we stand.

[JAMESBENNETT]

Yesturday Texas was up to 91 "eXt"'s, this morning we are up to 93? ORFD-admin this was noticed before the extra money was even on the news, but you could be right. I think it has to do with the application being updated. Who know's? I will hang on to anything at this point! We haven't gotten the 1199a or the direct deposite email either, but we still have the "eXt" and I found three departments here that had it last week that don't now! Best of luck to all!

[timm1960]

How about putting an end to the mystery.

Ask FEMA about the eXt thing and when the Dear John's will start.

Thanks

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

[webteam]

How about putting an end to the mystery.

The eXt may or may not appear, it has no bearing on the guaranteeing your department will get a grant. Please see the earlier post about the breakdown of 'eXt' in Round 3 winners. It likely only appears if a file has been edited, which is no guarantee again that a grant is coming soon. Many departments have won and do NOT have it.

Also, here are stories about the turn down notices, which are going out this week and next:

http://www.firehouse.com/funding/fireact/2002/0801qa.html

http://www.firehouse.com/funding/fireact/2002/0802a.html

[ORFD-Admin]

I'm sure they knew of the "extra" money before anyone in the public knew about it though. I'm not sure how this thing works- I just found out today how to check and see if the eXt appeared on my app. and when it did, I got a little encouragement b/c before now, everyone wanted to bash me and tell me that we would never get a grant. Still wishing here in NC.

[FireChief15201]

Guys, I hate to burst your bubbles, but here goes. My dept had the ext next to the phone number for a while now. I just received an e-mail from FEMA that our grant request was denied. My fingers were crossed just like everyone else's, and I thought the ext meant something positive, but not necessarily. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

[FireChief15201]

Has anyone else out there that had the ext next on their application been turned down like I have. It seems kind of odd that companies that HAVE the ext seem to be getting the grant awards? I haven't read about anyone else in the same spot as me. I'm hoping it was just a computer glitch or something. Please help ease the pain!!!!!!!!!

[JAMESBENNETT]

Chief you said you guy's had the "eXt" for awhile. When did you notice that it was missing? When I went back though my state again this morning I noticed that 5 new department had it and a couple had been taken off. They said from the beginning that they would redo the priority list after each round. Sorry to here you guy's are out of the running. It is a shame, since I now everyone has needs, that everyone can't win. Best of luck on next years grants though!!

[FireChief15201]

James Bennett

The ext was never missing. It first appeared 3 weeks ago and was still there as of late last night, but I received the e-mail from FEMA today stating the bad news.

[toddmcbr]

Cheif 15201

I'm sorry to here your request was denied.

Did you happen to received the 1199 or the 5 questions from FEMA? Did you ever have the 1199 link on your application?

Todd

[Flashpoint4]

Where to go to find what departments in your state applied for the FEMA Grant?

Thanks,

[webteam]

The process is explained in an earlier post. Its only available to the single registered grant submitter of each department via the USFA online system. If you are, the process to search is explained in some of the initial posts.

WebTeam

[JAMESBENNETT]

I don't think you can find out what they applied for without getting access to the application. The only thing listed on the search we have been doing over the "eXt" is their department name, Grant writer, contact number, state and zip code! Hope this helps!

[mjboom]

Did a little research on this for California and found that out of the 27 departments that have been awarded in the first two rounds 22 had the infamous "ext", 4 did not and one department wasn't listed. Just a little more info to digest as we all wait....!

[webteam]

Folks

Please re-read the posts above.

There are now several confirmed reports of folks who HAD the 'eXt' who DID NOT get an award.

And while a slight majority of departments that DO have the 'eXt' there are still many that will be getting awards in Round 3 that do NOT.

Its just an indication most likely the file was edited. Some departments apparantly have been assuming it means they may be getting an award and now finding out some bad news.

We encourage all those who submitted grants to WAIT until you receive an official notice from your Congressional representative or are listed on an official round list before telling members of your department you might be getting a grant. Basing it on the 'eXt' or some of the other rumors of signs circulating on these forums is NO INDICIATION and NO CONFIRMATION that you will or won't be getting a greant until you receive formal notification.

We can totally understand everyone's desire to know sooner or later, but we also don't want the rumors on here (while fun) giving anyone false hope that may make matters worse when they get a turndown notice, as has already happened, based on some emails we've received.

Keep the questions coming and we'll get the answers from FEMA as we can!

Thanks
WebTeam

[toddmcbr]

The WebTeam is absolutely right. You should not be basing an award on having a "eXt" behind your telephone number.

I really wanted the "eXt" theory to be true, but if you read some of the previous posts you will find out that it really has no merrit to it at all now. Yes a lot of the departments that were awarded a grant do have the "eXt" behind their name. However, the minute we start basing an award off of it, we will be the one of the few that gets the Dear John email.

I along with many others wanted this to be true. However I now know that I can't count on this at all. I have realized that there will probably be at least another 10 rounds of winners and that I'm very impatiently going to have to wait just like everyone else.

To the WebTeam....You're doing an excellent job of keeping us up to date with the latest.

Good Luck....

TM:eek:

[Esbon]

We got our email to the 1199a link on our application back on July the 9th. I filled it out and mailed it back to Fema with delivery conformation but they have not picked it up yet. We have the eXt on our contact info, I know for a fact I didn't put in a extinsion number on contact info. I noticed on my application there is a number under applicant information it is by number 10.Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance The number is 85.554 Is this the mystical score the application got or what is this number for I didn't put it there. :eek:

[kevinboris]

To : ESBON

The code number that you see in box 10 has nothing to do with your score. That is the official grant funding code for this year. The catalogue that it references lists all federal grants available for both private citizens, business, and gov. agencies. Everyone who applied for this grant had that number added to their application at the time of submittal. I spoke to a friend of mine who works for FEMA on Friday, and I asked him about the scoring procedure.. he gave me some of the details and told me he would get the rest for me this week. From what he told me so far, the first review of the grants was done by a computer that looked for "key words or phrases" in the narrative. A point value system was setup based upon finding certain words in a certain order, and how many times you used them. ( ie. NFPA compliance, or OSHA compliance ). Along with other key words and quanities from the catagories that you applied for. Some formula was used to come up with a "score" . I was told that if your application scored over a certain point value it was sent into the next step for peer review under whichever section you were applying for. From what I can see this next step was the real deciding one.. everything depended on how you presented your case, and if you could get them to understand your needs. ( and probably get them to feel sorry for you ! ) They gave it a final rating, and selected some of them to be reccommended for award.

I join all the rest of you in playing the waiting game... and it is a killer !! However I am going on the assumption that I will receive a " dear John" letter too. SO .. to that extent I have started appling for other grants, and I reccommend that everyone else start doing it also. The best 2 sources that I can reccommend are :

FUNDING ALTERNATIVIES for FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES

it is available for free from the FEMA website order book number EME-98-SA-0431.

The other book is :

CATALOGUE OF FEDERAL GRANTS AND ASSISTANCE

This is available from the goverment printing office for about $ 60.00 or... maybe you can do like I did .. contact your senator or congressman and you might get lucky and get a free copy from them.

One of the things that I would like to see posted here is a copy of some of the grants from the winning departments, so that all of us could have a chance to see the style of writing and the way it was presented. Who knows it might help some of us for next year.

If anyone would like to discuss it further.. drop me an email and lets talk about it.

Kevinboris@aol.com
Fire Medic Treasurer
Sea Cliff Fire Department
Sea Cliff, L.I. , NY

[webteam]

The number 85.554 under 'CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE' is the catalog reference as the post indicates, it doesnt relate to the score or anything with your application's process.

The majority (if not all) of the turndown letters being sent out are those departments that did not make the peer review cut.

WebTeam

[engel702]

I'm a firm believer that the eXt thing shows that your app has been edited at FEMA's level for whatever reason. We had the ext behind our contact number and we didn't put an ext number on our app. So I went into our profile to see if anything had changed, the only thing I found was that I had changed genders, I corrected that and hit save. Upon checking our contact infor again the ext had dissappered. Since then I've been in contact with a freind from another dist. and he had just recieved the 5 question e-mail and when checking their contact number it now has the ext behind it and it did not before. So any information editing maybe the cause. We are still waiting for word one way or the other.
Congrats to those who have recieved grants to date.

Terry

[mizflame98]

:confused: Is it me or does this whole "ext" business have the makings of a good urban legend? :confused:

[wellsfr]

Same story with me re eXt and gender change. I recieved Questionaire last week from a grant reviewer and also in a separate email a request to resubmit my application. the eXt holds true in Nevada so far?????

[JAMESBENNETT]

Well, it does seem to only be a legend, but it has some good back ground as well. wheather it means anything or not, it still gives me something to keep my mind of the stress. I think I read somewhere that you have gotten the questions and Direct Deposite form? If so good luck on the next round!!!!! :)

[mizflame98]

good luck to you too :D

[webteam]

Just a reminder to those who haven't read all the posts:

a) Some with the 'eXt' have received awards

b) Some with the 'eXt' have gotten turndown letters.

c) Some without the 'eXt' have received awards.

-WebTeam

[Esbon]

Well I just checked my profile and I did have something wrong in it I was listed as a Ms Richard. LOL I changed it to Mr Richard and now the mysterious eXt has now dissapeared. Dang was hoping the Urban Legened about the grant being mine because of it was correct. Well back to hoping again. Say has anyone got the Dear John letter that got the 1199 form and told to have their Bank sign it and send it in yet?:rolleyes:

[jspotts3]

IT APPEARS THE MYSTERIOUS eXt WAS A GLICH. IF EVERYBODY GOES TO THEIR EDIT PROFILE PAGE ON THE APPLICATION STATUS YOU WILL FIND THAT THE (MS., MRS., MR.) HAS THE (MS.) HIGHLIGHTED. THIS MAY HAVE HAPPENED BECAUSE THE APPLICANT MAY HAVE NOT SELECTED AN OPTION AND SOMEHOW IT AUTOMATICALLY CHOOSE FOR YOU WHEN YOU SAVED OR FEMA, CHOOSE AN OPTION WHEN REVIEWING. CHECKED MINE AND EDITTED AND SAVED AND KNOW (eXt) IS NO LONGER. SO MUCH FOR HOPE HOWEVER NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS AT THIS POINT.

STAY SAFE AND HOPEFUL

:( :(

[ORFD-Admin]

jspotts3-

I read your thread and went to my profile, changed the Ms to Mrs and the eXt disappeared on mine also. I'm going to check back later and see if it comes back. Good Luck and I will try and remain hopeful also. Still haven't got the dreaded dear john, so thats good.

[HazMan]

Well, mine still says Mr. and we have the eXt. Even deleted the eXt and saved but it still comes up on the list. Go figure.

We may never know the true cause of the eXt. All we can believe at this point is that it really has no significance.

[jbrandy]

I too corrected my gender and the ext went away. I hate to fuel the fire but this brings up another question. Why are new requests showing up with the extension? We all have had our applications in since April. Are these applications under some internal scrutiny? Why fix do they need edited if we are getting dear john letters? Are the letters personalized? This is too much stress!

[webteam]

FEMA may be contacting the departments simply to clairfy or correct information in the grants. Its all part of the process. There is NO true meaning of the 'eXt' related to whether you will or won't be getting a grant.

Sorry folks, but this thread will not be closed. We're still hearing that people are reading about the eXt theories here and going back to their departments and telling them it means they've won. Unfortunately, that's not true.

This can stay as an urban legend, but some folks are reading too much into it and can potentially do harm for themselves with their own department by presuming what it means.

Thanks
WebTeam