The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security has more than $300M to give away to fire departments and emergency medical service providers in 2015 through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG).
The AFG program opened Monday, Nov. 3 and will continue to accept applications until Dec. 5 until 5 p.m. EST.
This year, the government appropriated $304,503,764 to be awarded to first responders on a rolling bases starting on March 9, 2015.
FEMA expects to award about 2,700 grants by the time it concludes the program on Sept. 21.
The number of award is a minute fraction of the number of applications it expects to receive. Each year, the AFG program receives more than 10,000 applications requesting billions of dollars in funding. It would be an understatement to say the program is competitive.
Shortly after making the announcement that the grant period was open, FEMA sent out a reminder stating grant applicants must have a User ID to create or access grant applications. It also stated organizations that have applied in the past must use the User ID used to submit previous AFG applications. The memo also describes the process by which lost passwords and information may be retrieved from FEMA.
The AFG program will provide funding for training, equipment, basic communications projects, cardiac compression devices, PPE/SCBA, firefighter wellness and fitness, modifications to fire stations and facilities, and firefighter vehicle acquisition. Similar items are authorized for EMS organizations.
New for 2014 allows for requests for ballistic protective equipment. A set of BPE will be comprised of one vest, one helmet, one triage bag and one pair of goggles. To apply for BPE, applicants must trained in the use and interagency training is highly encouraged and should be fully explained in the narrative of the application.
Also new for 2014, all simulators, including mobile and fixed fire/evolution props including burn trailers, forcible entry and rescue/smoke mazes and the required to vehicles have been moved from the training segment to equipment.
In 2014, FEMA has made used and refurbished vehicles ineligible for funding under the AFG program.
All grant awards require some cost sharing on behalf of the recipients. AFG has announced the matching funds will be 15 percent for populations of greater than one million; 10 percent for populations of 20,000 to 1 million and 5 percent for populations smaller than 20,000 and for all eligible fire prevention and safety grants.
More information on the AFG program, including tutorials and tips on how to successfully apply can be found at https://www.fema.gov/welcome-assistance-firefighters-grant-program
