2007 AFG Change in Priorities

[Pelican631]

2006 and before (emphasis added):
The higher priority will go to departments with higher call volumes, while applications from departments with low call volumes will be afforded lower competitive ratings. The call volume of rural departments will be compared only to other rural departments, suburban departments will be compared only to other suburban departments, and urban departments will be compared only to other urban departments.

2007 (emphasis added):
Therefore, for each activity below, DHS will provide a higher level of consideration to departments with significant levels of incidents and to departments that protect large populations relative to other applicants, regardless of the type of community served. Departments with low call volume, or that serve small communities, will receive lower consideration.

So should I even bother putting in an application this year?

90 calls isn't very many.

Andy

[onebugle]

Even though they have changed the matrix to include all 3 types of communities in regards to call volume & population, you need to keep it in perspective that you are still competing against other volunteer/combination departments for 55% of the funding. Historically, that figure has been higher since the AFG doesn't reach the 45% funding level for career departments. Hence 94% of vehicle awards have been to rural departments.

If you don't apply=no funding. If you don't apply=better chance of success for others. If you have a need, apply.

[BC79er_OLDDELETE]

Just means that maybe in the past putting SCBA and PPE in an app would have funded. This year, only for the right department can that be done.

Right Department + Right Reasons + Right Program + Right Project = Funding.

Math is fun.

[superchef]

Math is fun.

ha ha. Maybe for you, not for me. Excel and anything remotely related to math and my brain do not connect.


ok, back to work. I needed a break as the brain was not connecting with the words tonight either.

[deputychief1441]

Ok so for those of you that understand this grant thing, I have no proffesional grant writer and I am a rural department covering approx 30 square miles have annually 700 calls, 10-15 year old PPE and an assortment of SCBA, Ultralite II and MMR's all purchased used. What are my chances of getting PPE and SCBA? Give some thought!!!

[BC79er_OLDDELETE]

If the bulk of those 700 calls are either mutual aid or EMS responses then PPE only. Like I said in another thread, if you need bunker gear that badly, and it is the number 1 priority for funding, we know that anything else you add into that application will drag your PPE score down so maybe you go too low to get an award. Since this is a fact, why risk losing your PPE award by adding anything to it? SCBA is priority #2, so it will bring a PPE app score down. This is a game of fractions of a point. It's great if you can get a 93 as a compound score, but not if 93.5 was the award cutoff and your bunker gear was a 95 and SCBA a 92. SCBA lost the PPE award in that case. Repeat awards winners are funded for single focus applications. Pick one thing each year. The laundry list apps are the exception, but like FFs committing arson they're the only ones anyone ever hears about. I'll take small awards all day long, and have for a long time. I've worked hands-on with over 1300 apps and funded over 900 of them for just short of $50mil. Run the math and that's right around $50K average.

Sure I've hit some big ones out of the park, but like they say in baseball it's not the teams that hit all the home runs that win the games, it's the ones that single and double you to death 1 runner at at time that are hard to beat.

[dday05]

If the bulk of those 700 calls are either mutual aid or EMS responses then PPE only. Like I said in another thread, if you need bunker gear that badly, and it is the number 1 priority for funding, we know that anything else you add into that application will drag your PPE score down so maybe you go too low to get an award. Since this is a fact, why risk losing your PPE award by adding anything to it? SCBA is priority #2, so it will bring a PPE app score down. This is a game of fractions of a point. It's great if you can get a 93 as a compound score, but not if 93.5 was the award cutoff and your bunker gear was a 95 and SCBA a 92. SCBA lost the PPE award in that case. Repeat awards winners are funded for single focus applications. Pick one thing each year. The laundry list apps are the exception, but like FFs committing arson they're the only ones anyone ever hears about. I'll take small awards all day long, and have for a long time. I've worked hands-on with over 1300 apps and funded over 900 of them for just short of $50mil. Run the math and that's right around $50K average.

Sure I've hit some big ones out of the park, but like they say in baseball it's not the teams that hit all the home runs that win the games, it's the ones that single and double you to death 1 runner at at time that are hard to beat.

Very good info here thanks.

[gptfd226]

we have put in our ppe grant what is your take on applying for a washing machine under the the equipment grant.

[BC79er_OLDDELETE]

As part of the PPE app, no problems in doing so, makes the gear last longer. Sounds like you pressed submit already, and if you have then you can't add anything.

[AFDRAS]

2006 and before (emphasis added):
The higher priority will go to departments with higher call volumes, while applications from departments with low call volumes will be afforded lower competitive ratings. The call volume of rural departments will be compared only to other rural departments, suburban departments will be compared only to other suburban departments, and urban departments will be compared only to other urban departments.

2007 (emphasis added):
Therefore, for each activity below, DHS will provide a higher level of consideration to departments with significant levels of incidents and to departments that protect large populations relative to other applicants, regardless of the type of community served. Departments with low call volume, or that serve small communities, will receive lower consideration.

So should I even bother putting in an application this year?

90 calls isn't very many.

Andy

How does high call volume weigh in against vehicle age? We have a 1975 converted mild truck for a tanker and i was wondering if a vehicle of that age would out weigh the fact that we have a low call volume.

[BC79er_OLDDELETE]

"Let's do the Grant Limbo! How low can you go?"

Last year I found in my nerd analysis on what I had for stats in my apps that no one under 10 structural fires a year made it past the computer for a truck app. Doesn't mean it can't happen just means you might want to bullet-proof the narrative in case it barely makes it through to make up for a lower computer score. Happens all the time, high computer scores get tanked by poor narratives so low computer scores that make Peer can nail the narratives and end up with the higher combined score and get the dough.

[SWFD94]

We are applying to refurbish a 1984 Pierce Arrow to a 4-door cab, poly tank, relocate lights/sirens, NFPA 1912 (I think) compatible, etc.

We run two or three working fires a year (I did notice that was a question in the application this year). However, this truck runs a lot more than that due to vehicle accidents (first out on all), mutual aid, gas odors, wires down, and anything else appropriate for it.

Does the low structure fire hurt or eliminate our chance?

I know I can write a good narrative....but up until now I have had to worry much about the computer grading. I would hate to be kicked out by a computer.