A recent appropriations bill passed by Congress for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allotted $600 million in federal funds for the 2005 AFGP. FETN is offering free grant-writing support to fire departments that choose to write grant proposals requesting a portion of this federal grant aid.
"FETN's experienced grant writers provide guidance to fire departments in developing and writing an effective narrative, as well as help navigate the departments through the lengthy application process," said Chief Randy Corbin (ret.), vice president of FETN. "Half the battle of securing funding comes from knowing how to work your way through the system."
Since the DHS established the AFGP in 2002 (formerly known as the FIRE Act Grant), FETN has helped departments secure nearly $10 million in grant funds. Awards are made on a competitive basis and those with the highest scores are the first to be announced. In 2004, FETN helped the Healdton Volunteer Fire Department receive a $70,988 grant award within the first few weeks of announcements.
"FETN's grant assistance allowed us to receive aid for equipment and training we could never have had. We are able to protect ourselves and our community more efficiently now," said Healdton Fire Chief Ronnie Hayes. "Their service made an otherwise intimidating process easy and it helped us tremendously."
Many departments lack the resources they need to properly train their firefighters. FETN is a leading provider of fire training and is offering its grant-writing service from February 2 until March 17 to departments who plan to include training in their grant proposal. Timing is critical when registering for assistance, and departments that have their grant information ready, such as a list of details and risks, community demographics and risks, as well as information regarding supplies needed, receive the most benefit and have the greatest success rate.
"Training is a vital component for every fire department, but at the same time it's an under-funded budget item," Corbin said. "Our goal is to help those departments that plan to include training in their grant application acquire the critical resources they need to be skilled firefighters. With the reduced number of fire responses, training becomes more essential to maintain basic firefighting competence."
In the three years FETN has been offering grant-writing assistance, they have helped more than 200 fire departments with grant applications. In 2003, departments who received FETN grant-writing assistance experienced an 81 percent success rate. With these federal grants, most departments purchase continuing education materials for their firefighters, new protective gear or equipment to use during emergencies, wellness and fitness programs, as well as the latest technology available for their stations.
To register for FETN's free grant writing service, visit www.fetn.com, call 866.472.6832 or email [email protected].
About Fire & Emergency Training Network (FETN) FETN, a division of PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning (NYSE: PRM), provides quality training, education and information to empower emergency personnel to react safely, swiftly and capably. FETN reaches more than a quarter-million fire and EMS personnel each month, giving fire, EMS and technical rescue personnel access to consistent, quality training. For more than a decade, FETN has been providing the fire service with convenient access to training from the country's foremost experts on safety, rescue, terrorism, emergency medicine, multiple alarms, prevention and natural disasters. All of FETN's training is compliant with NFPA, DOT, ISO, OSHA, CECBEMS and other standards, enabling emergency response workers to learn about important regulations and satisfy certification requirements at a fraction of what it would cost to attend specialized workshops and seminars. To learn more about FETN, visit www.fetn.com.
About PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning
PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning is the leading provider of Integrated Learning Solutions for more than eight million professionals in the industrial, healthcare, banking, automotive, fire and emergency, government and law, and security markets. PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning's unique offerings include the world's largest satellite-delivered distance learning services; CD-ROM, Web-based and video training programs; and an Internet-enabled learning management system, which better enables corporations and government agencies to manage, track and measure their in-house training efforts. This unparalleled combination of content, custom solutions, technology and "any time/anywhere" delivery represents the state of the art in the fast-growing business-to-business training market. For more details on PRIMEDIA Workplace Learning, visit www.pwpl.com.
