[Federal Register: March 13, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 50)]
[Notices]
[Page 13552-13558]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr08-70]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Guidance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This Notice provides guidelines that describe the application
process for grants and the criteria for awarding grants in the 2008
Assistance to Firefighters Grant program year, as well as an
explanation for any differences with the guidelines recommended by
representatives of the Nation's fire service leadership during the
annual Criteria Development meeting. The program makes grants directly
to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services
organizations for the purpose of enhancing first-responders' abilities
to protect the health and safety of the public as well as that of
first-responder personnel facing fire and fire-related hazards. In
addition, the authorizing statute requires that a minimum of 5 percent
of appropriated funds be expended for fire prevention and safety
grants, which are also made directly to local fire departments and to
local, regional, State or national entities recognized for their
expertise in the field of fire prevention and firefighter safety
research and development.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Cowan, Director, Assistance to
Firefighters Program Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
FEMA: 5th Floor Suites AFG--TechWorld Building, SW., Washington, DC
20472.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Assistance to
Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program is to provide
[[Page 13553]]
grants directly to fire departments and nonaffiliated Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) organizations to enhance their ability to protect the
health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder
personnel, with respect to fire and fire-related hazards.
Appropriations
For fiscal year 2008, Congress appropriated $560,000,000 to carry
out the activities of the AFG Program. The Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) is authorized to use up to $28,000,000 for
administration of the AFG program (5 percent of the appropriated
amount). In addition, DHS must set aside no less than $28,000,000 of
the funds (5 percent of the appropriation) for the Fire Prevention and
Safety Grants (FP&S). However, for fiscal year 2008, DHS will award
$35,000,000 for FP&S. Under FP&S, DHS may make grants to, or enter into
contracts or cooperative agreements with, national, State, local or
community organizations or agencies, including fire departments, for
the purpose of carrying out fire prevention grants and firefighter
safety research and development grants.
The remaining $497,000,000 will be used for competitive grants to
fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations for equipment,
training and first responders' safety. Within the portion of funding
available for these competitive grants, DHS must assure that no less
than 3.5 percent of the appropriation, or $19,600,000, is awarded for
EMS equipment and training. However, awards to nonaffiliated EMS
organizations are limited to no more than 2 percent of the
appropriation or $11,200,000. Therefore, at least the balance of the
requisite awards for EMS equipment and training must go to fire
departments.
Background
DHS awards the grants on a competitive basis to the applicants that
best address the AFG program's priorities and provide the most
compelling justification. Applicants whose requests best address the
program's priorities will be reviewed by a panel composed of fire
service personnel. The panel will review the narrative and evaluate the
application in four different areas: (1) The clarity of the proposed
project description, (2) the organization's financial need, (3) the
benefit to be derived from the proposed project relative to the cost,
and (4) the extent to which the grant would enhance the applicant's
daily operations and/or how the grant would positively impact the
applicant's ability to protect life and property.
The AFG program for 2008 generally mirrors previous years' AFG
programs including changes made in 2007. Those changes included the
removal of the restriction regarding the number of vehicles that an
applicant may request in a single application; the provision to allow
organizations that protect urban or suburban communities to apply for
multiple vehicles (with a limit of one vehicle per station); and an
allowance for applicants to submit as many as three separate
applications: a vehicle application, an application for operations and
safety, and an application for a ``regional project.'' A ``regional
project,'' generally, is a project undertaken by an applicant to
provide services and support to a number of other regional
participants, such as training for multiple mutual-aid jurisdictions.
Regional applications will be required to reflect the general
characteristics of the entire represented region. The population
covered by the regional project will affect the amount of required
local contribution to the project, i.e. the cost share required for the
project.
The 2008 program will again segregate the FP&S program from the
AFG. DHS will have a separate application period devoted solely to FP&S
tentatively scheduled to occur in the Fall of 2008. The AFG Web site
http://www.firegrantsupport.com will provide updated information on
this program.
Congress has enacted statutory limits to the amount of funding that
a grantee may receive from the AFG program in any fiscal year (15
U.S.C. 2229(b)(10)). These limits are based on population served. A
grantee that serves a jurisdiction with 500,000 people or less may not
receive grant funding in excess of $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. A
grantee that serves a jurisdiction with more than 500,000 but not more
than 1,000,000 people may not receive grants in excess of $1,750,000 in
any fiscal year. A grantee that serves a jurisdiction with more than
1,000,000 people may not receive grants in excess of $2,750,000 in any
fiscal year. DHS may waive these established limits to any grantee
serving a jurisdiction of 1,000,000 people or less if DHS determines
that extraordinary need for assistance warrants the waiver. No grantee,
under any circumstance, may receive ``more than the lesser of
$2,750,000 or .5 percent [one-half of 1 percent] of the funds
appropriated under this section for a single fiscal year.''
Grantees must share in the costs of the projects funded under this
grant program (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)(6)). Fire departments and
nonaffiliated EMS organizations that serve populations of less than
20,000 must match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal
funds equal to 5 percent of the total project cost. Fire departments
and nonaffiliated EMS organizations serving areas with a population
between 20,000 and 50,000, inclusive, must match the Federal grant
funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 10 percent of the
total project cost. Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS
organizations that serve populations of over 50,000 must match the
Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 20
percent of the total project costs. All non-Federal funds must be in
cash, i.e., in-kind contributions are not eligible. The only waiver
granted for this requirement will be for applicants located in Insular
Areas as provided for in 48 U.S.C. 1469a.
The law imposes additional requirements on ensuring a distribution
of grant funds among career, volunteer, and combination (volunteer and
career personnel) fire departments, and among urban, suburban and rural
communities. More specifically with respect to department types, DHS
must ensure that all-volunteer or combination fire departments receive
a portion of the total grant funding that is not less than the
proportion of the United States population that those departments
protect (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)(11)). There is no corresponding minimum for
career departments. Therefore, subject to the other statutory
limitations on DHS ability to award funds, DHS will ensure that, for
the 2008 program year, no less than 33 percent of the funding available
for grants will be awarded to combination departments, and no less than
22 percent will be awarded to all-volunteer departments. If, and only
if, other statutory limitations inhibit DHS ability to ensure this
distribution of funding, DHS will ensure that the aggregate combined
total percent of funding provided to both combination and volunteer
departments is no less than 55 percent.
DHS generally makes funding decisions using rank order resulting
from the panel evaluation. However, DHS may deviate from rank order and
make funding decisions based on the type of department (career,
combination, or volunteer) and/or the size and character of the
community the applicant serves (urban, suburban, or rural) to the
extent it is required to satisfy statutory provisions.
[[Page 13554]]
Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program
In addition to the grants available to fire departments in fiscal
year 2008 through the competitive grant program, DHS will set aside
$35,000,000 of the funds available under the AFG program to make grants
to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, national,
State, local or community organizations or agencies, including fire
departments, for the purpose of carrying out fire prevention and injury
prevention projects, and for research and development grants that
address firefighter safety.
In accordance with the statutory requirement to fund fire
prevention activities, support to Fire Prevention and Safety Grant
activities concentrates on organizations that focus on the prevention
of injuries to children from fire. In addition to this priority, DHS
places an emphasis on funding innovative projects that focus on
protecting children under 14, seniors over 65, and firefighters.
Because the victims of burns experience both short- and long-term
physical and psychological effects, DHS places a priority on programs
that focus on reducing the immediate and long-range effects of fire and
burn injuries.
DHS will issue an announcement regarding pertinent details of the
Fire Prevention and Safety Grant portion of this program prior to the
application period. Interested parties should monitor the grant
program's Web site at: http://www.firegrantsupport.com.
Application Process
Prior to the start of the application period, DHS will conduct
applicant workshops across the country to inform potential applicants
about the AFG program for 2008. In addition, DHS will provide
applicants an online web-based tutorial and other information to use in
preparing a quality application. Applicants are advised to access the
application electronically at https://portal.fema.net, or through the
AFG Web site at: http://www.firegrantsupport.com. In completing the
application, applicants will provide relevant information on the
applicant's characteristics, call volume, and existing capacities.
Applicants will answer questions regarding their assistance request
that reflects the funding priorities (iterated below). In addition,
each applicant will complete a narrative addressing statutory
competitive factors: financial need, benefits/costs, and improvement to
the organization's daily operations. During the application period,
applicants will be encouraged to contact DHS via a toll free number or
online help desk with any questions. The electronic application process
will permit the applicant to enter data and save the application for
further use, and will not permit the submission of incomplete
applications. Except for the narrative, the application uses a ``point-
and-click'' selection process, or requires the entry of information
(e.g., name & address, call volume numbers, etc.).
The application period for the AFG grants will be announced in the
full Program Guidance when posted on the AFG website. During the
approaching application season, the program office expects to receive
between 20,000 and 25,000 applications. When available, application
statistics on the type of department, type of community, and other
factors reflected in the submitted requests will be posted on the AFG
Web site: http://www.firegrantsupport.com.
Application Review Process
DHS evaluates all applications in the preliminary screening process
to determine which applications best address the program's announced
funding priorities. This preliminary screening evaluates and scores the
applicants' answers to the activity specific questions. Applications
containing multiple activities will be given prorated scores based on
the amount of funding requested for each activity. The best
applications as determined in the preliminary step are deemed to be in
the ``competitive range.''
Once the competitive range is established DHS will review the list
of applicants that are not included in the competitive range to
determine if any of those applicants are responsible for protecting
DHS-specified critical infrastructure or key resources. If it is
determined that an applicant has responsibility for protecting one or
more critical infrastructure or key resources but is not included in
the competitive range, DHS will determine whether it is appropriate to
place that application before the peer review panel due to the
importance of its mission to protect these critical resources. This
action will not affect any other application or otherwise undermine the
process used to determine the competitive range. Peer review panelists
will not be aware of any applicant's protection of critical
infrastructure/key resources and all applications will be peer reviewed
against the criteria described in this document.
All applications in the competitive range are subject to a second
level review by a technical evaluation panel made up of individuals
from the fire service including, but not limited to, firefighters, fire
marshals, and fire training instructors. The panelists will assess the
application's merits with respect to the clarity and detail provided
about the project, the applicant's financial need, the project's
purported benefit to be derived from the cost, and the effectiveness of
the project to enhance the health and safety of the public and fire
service personnel.
Using the evaluation criteria included here, the panelists will
independently score each application before them and then discuss the
merits and shortcomings of the application in an effort to reconcile
any major discrepancies. A consensus on the score is not required. The
panelists will assign a score to each of the elements detailed above.
DHS will then consider the highest scoring applications resulting from
this second level of review for awards. Applications that involve
interoperable communications projects will undergo a separate review by
the State Administrative Agency to assure that the communications
project is consistent with the Statewide Communications
Interoperability Plan (SCIP). If the State determines that the project
is inconsistent with the State SCIP, the project will not be funded.
After the completion of the reviews, DHS will select a sufficient
number of awardees from this application period to obligate all of the
available grant funding. DHS will announce the awards over several
months and will notify non-successful applicants as soon as feasible.
DHS will not make awards in any specified order, i.e., not by State,
program, nor any other characteristic.
Criteria Development Process
Each year, DHS conducts a criteria development meeting to develop
the program's priorities for the coming year. DHS brings together a
panel of fire service professionals representing the leadership of the
nine major fire service organizations:
Congressional Fire Service Institute (CFSI),
International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI),
International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC),
International Association of Firefighters (IAFF),
International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI),
National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM),
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA),
National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), and
[[Page 13555]]
North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD).
The criteria development panel is charged with making
recommendations to the grants program office regarding the creation
and/or modification of program priorities as well as development of
criteria and definitions as necessary.
The governing statute requires that DHS publish each year in the
Federal Register the guidelines that describe the application process
and the criteria for grant awards. DHS must also include an explanation
of any differences between the published guidelines and the
recommendations made by the criteria development panel. The guidelines
and the statement regarding the differences between the guidelines and
the criteria development panel recommendations must be published in the
Federal Register prior to awarding any grants under the program. 15
U.S.C. 2229(b)(14).
When considering the criteria development panel's recommendations,
DHS looks to the broader Administration priorities established in
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD 8), 39 Weekly Comp.
Pres. Docs. 1822 (Dec. 17, 2003). DHS is mindful of some differences
between the AFG statutory mandates and HSPD-8 priorities, such as the
statutory requirement that DHS make AFG grants directly to fire
departments and non-affiliated EMS organizations, as contrasted with
the HSPD-8 preference for funding through the States. However, the AFG
is consistent with the National Preparedness Guidelines called for by
HSPD-8 by prioritizing investments based upon the assessment of an
applicant's need and capabilities to effectively prepare for and
respond to all hazards, including terrorism threats, and a
consideration of the characteristics of the community served (e.g.
presence of critical infrastructure, population served, call volume) to
the extent permitted by law. To the extent practical, AFG has attempted
to harmonize the directions from the President and the Secretary with
the requirements and limitations of the authorization and the structure
of the fire service. Federal funding of assets devoted to basic
firefighting should complement all aspects of responding to the more
complex chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear/explosive (CBRNE)
threat.
The Fiscal year 2008 criteria development panel meeting occurred
June 6-7, 2007. For the 2008 program year, DHS implemented all
recommendations presented by the criteria development panel. However,
DHS implemented additional program changes that were not considered
during the criteria development panel's deliberations. Those changes
are as follows:
In determining which applications will be reviewed by the
peer panelists, DHS will review the list of applicants that are not
included in the competitive range to determine if any those applicants
are responsible for protecting critical infrastructure or key resources
on this classified list. If it is determined that an applicant has
responsibility for protecting one or more critical infrastructure or
key resources but is not included in the competitive range, DHS will
determine whether it is appropriate to place that application before
the peer review panel due to the importance of its mission to protect
these critical resources. This action will not affect any other
application or otherwise undermine the process used to determine the
competitive range. Peer review panelists will not be aware of any
applicant's protection of critical infrastructure/key resources and all
applications will be peer reviewed against the criteria
For regional communications requests, DHS will require
that any regional communications projects comply with the applicant's
State-approved Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan.
Under the wellness and fitness activities, DHS will not
allow grantees to request funds for consultants such as nutritionists
and fitness trainers. Also, costs of incentives to bolster
participation in a wellness and fitness programs will not be eligible.
Under the equipment acquisition activity, DHS will not
allow funding for all-terrain vehicles, rescue boats, snowmobiles, and
other small specialty vehicles.
Review Considerations
Fire Department Priorities
Specific rating criteria for each of the eligible programs and
activities are discussed below. The funding priorities described in
this Notice have been recommended by a panel of representatives from
the Nation's fire service leadership and have been accepted by DHS for
the purposes of implementing the AFG. These rating criteria provide an
understanding of the grant program's priorities and the expected cost-
effectiveness of any proposed project(s). The activities listed below
are in no particular order of priority. Within each activity, DHS will
consider the number of people served by the applicant with higher
populations afforded more consideration than lower populations. DHS
will further explain program priorities in program guidance to be
published separately.
(1) Operations and Firefighter Safety Program
(i) Training Activities. In implementing the fire service's
recommendations, DHS has determined that the most benefit will be
derived from instructor-led, hands-on training that leads to a
nationally-sanctioned or State certification. Training requests that
include Web-based home study or distance learning or the purchase of
training materials, equipment, or props are a lower priority.
Therefore, applications focused on national or State certification
training, including train-the-trainer initiatives, will receive a
higher competitive rating. Training that (1) involves instructors, (2)
requires the students to demonstrate their grasp of knowledge of the
training material via testing, and (3) is integral to a certification
will receive a high competitive rating. Instructor-led training that
does not lead to a certification, and any self-taught courses, are of
lower benefit, and therefore will not receive a high priority.
DHS will give higher priority, within the limitations imposed by
statute, to training proposals which improve coordination capabilities
across disciplines (Fire, EMS, and Police), and jurisdictions (local,
State, and Federal). Training related to coordinated incident response
(i.e. bomb threat or IED response), tactical emergency communications
procedures, or similar types of inter-disciplinary, inter-
jurisdictional training will receive the highest competitive rating.
Due to the inherent differences between urban, suburban, and rural
firefighting characteristics, DHS has accepted the recommendations of
the criteria development panel for different priorities in the training
activities of departments that service these different types of
communities. CBRNE awareness training has a high benefit, however, and
will receive the highest consideration regardless of the type of
community served and regardless of the absence of any national
standard.
For fire departments serving rural communities, DHS has determined
that funding basic, operational-level firefighting, operational-level
rescue, driver training, and first-responder EMS, EMT-B, and EMT-I
training (i.e., training in basic firefighting, EMS, and rescue duties)
has greater benefit than funding officer training, safety officer
[[Page 13556]]
training, or incident-command training. In rural communities, after
basic training, there is a greater cost-benefit ratio for officer
training than for other specialized types of training such as mass
casualty, HAZMAT, advance rescue and EMT-P, or inspector training.
Conversely, for departments that are serving urban or suburban
communities, DHS has determined that, due to the number of firefighters
and the relatively-high percentage of the population protected, any
training requests will receive a high priority rating regardless of the
level of training requested. As such, when considering applications for
training from departments serving urban and suburban communities, DHS
will give higher priority to training proposals which improve
coordination capabilities across first-responder disciplines (fire,
EMS, and law enforcement), and jurisdictions (local, State, and
Federal). Training related to coordinated incident response (e.g.,
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) awareness and incident operations,
chemical or biological operations, or bomb threats), tactical emergency
communications procedures, or similar types of inter-disciplinary,
inter-jurisdictional training will receive the highest competitive
rating.
(ii) Wellness and Fitness Activities. In implementing the criteria
panel's recommendations, DHS has determined that fire departments must
offer periodic health screenings, entry physical examinations, and an
immunization program to have an effective wellness/fitness program.
Accordingly, applicants for grants in this category must currently
offer or plan to offer with grant funds all three benefits to receive
funding for any other initiatives in this activity. After entry-level
physicals, annual physicals, and immunizations, DHS will give priority
to formal fitness and injury prevention programs. DHS will give lower
priority to stress management, injury/illness rehabilitation, and
employee assistance.
DHS has determined the greatest relative benefit will be realized
by supporting new wellness and fitness programs. Therefore, applicants
for new wellness/fitness programs will receive higher competitive
ratings when compared with applicants whose wellness/fitness programs
lack one or more of the three top priority items cited above, and
applicants that already employ the requisite three activities of a
wellness/fitness program. Finally, because participation is critical to
achieving any benefits from a wellness or fitness program, applications
that mandate participation or provide incentives for participation will
receive higher competitive ratings.
(iii) Equipment Acquisition. As stated in the AFG statute, DHS
administers this grant program to protect the health and safety of
firefighters and the public from fire and fire-related hazards. As
such, equipment that has a direct effect on the health and safety of
either firefighters or the public will receive a higher competitive
rating than equipment that has no such effect. Equipment that promotes
interoperability with neighboring jurisdictions (especially for
communications equipment interoperable with a regional shared system)
will receive additional consideration in the cost-benefit assessment if
the application makes it into the competitive range.
The criteria development panel concluded that this grant program
will achieve the greatest benefits if the grant program provides funds
to purchase firefighting equipment (including rescue, EMS, and/or CBRNE
preparedness) that the applicant has not owned prior to the grant, or
to replace used or obsolete equipment.
According to the panel, a department takes on a ``new mission''
when it expands its services into areas not previously offered, such as
a fire department seeking funding to provide emergency medical services
for the first time. A ``new risk'' presents itself when a department
must address risks that have materialized in the department's area of
responsibility, e.g. the construction of a plant that uses significant
levels of certain chemicals could constitute a ``new risk.'' An
organization taking on ``new risks'' should be afforded higher
consideration than departments taking on a ``new mission.'' New
missions receive a lower priority due to the potential that an
applicant will not be able to financially support and sustain the new
mission beyond the period of the grant. However, applicants can
mitigate the impact of ``new missions'' on the competitiveness of their
application by providing evidence that the department will be able to
support and sustain the new mission beyond the period of the grant.
Departments responding to high call volumes will be afforded a
higher competitive rating than departments responding to lower call
volumes. In other words, those departments that are required to respond
more frequently will receive a higher competitive rating then those
that respond less frequently.
The purchase of equipment that brings the department into statutory
or regulatory compliance will provide the highest benefit and therefore
will receive the highest consideration. The purchase of equipment that
brings a department into voluntary compliance with national standards
will also receive a high competitive rating, but not as high as for the
purchase of equipment that brings a department into statutory
compliance. The purchase of equipment that does not affect statutory
compliance or voluntary compliance with a national standard will
receive a lower competitive rating.
(iv) Personal Protective Equipment Acquisition. To achieve the
Program's goals and maximize the benefit to the firefighting community,
DHS believes that it must fund those applicants needing to provide
personal protective equipment (PPE) to a high percentage of their
personnel. Accordingly, DHS will assign a higher competitive rating in
this category for fire departments where a larger number of active
firefighting staff is without compliant PPE. DHS will assign a high
competitive rating to departments that will purchase the equipment for
the first time as opposed to departments replacing obsolete or
substandard equipment (e.g., equipment that does not meet current NFPA
and OSHA standards). For those departments that are replacing obsolete
or substandard equipment, DHS will factor the age and condition of the
equipment to be replaced into the score with a higher priority given to
replacing old, damaged, torn, and/or contaminated equipment.
DHS will only consider funding applications for personal alert
safety system (PASS) devices that meet current national safety
standards, i.e., integrated and/or automatic or automatic-on PASS.
Finally, DHS takes into account the number of fire response calls that
a department makes in a year with the higher priority going to
departments with higher call volumes, while applications from
departments with low call volumes are afforded lower competitive
ratings.
(v) Modifications to Fire Stations and Facilities. DHS believes
that more benefit is derived from modifying fire stations than by
modifying fire-training facilities or other fire-related facilities.
The frequency of use has a bearing on the benefits derived from grant
funds. As such, DHS will afford facilities occupied 24-hours-per-day/
seven-days-a-week the highest consideration when contrasted with
facilities used on a part-time or irregular basis. Facilities open for
broad usage and have a high occupancy capacity receive a higher
competitive rating than facilities that have limited use and/or low
occupancy capacity. The frequency and duration of
[[Page 13557]]
a facility's occupancy have a direct relationship to the benefits
realized from funding in this activity.
(2) Firefighting Vehicle Acquisition Program. Due to the inherent
differences between urban, suburban, and rural firefighting
conventions, DHS has developed different priorities in the vehicle
program for departments that service different types of communities.
The following chart delineates the priorities in this program area for
each type of community. Due to the competitive nature of this program
and the imposed limits of funding available for this program, it is
unlikely that DHS will fund many vehicles not listed as a Priority One
during the 2008 program year.
Firefighting Vehicle Program Priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Urban communities Suburban communities Rural communities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority One
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pumper Pumper Pumper
Aerial Aerial Brush/Attack
Quint (Aerial < 76') Quint (Aerial < 76') Tanker/Tender
Quint (Aerial > 76') Quint (Aerial > 76') Quint (Aerial < 76')
Rescue
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority Two
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Command Command HAZMAT
HAZMAT HAZMAT Rescue
Light/Air Rescue Light/Air
Rehab Tanker/ Tender Aerial
Brush/Attack Quint (Aerial > 76')
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority Three
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foam Truck Foam Truck Foam Truck
ARFFV ARFFV ARFFV
Brush/Attack Rehab Rehab
Tanker /Tender Light/Air Command
Ambulance Ambulance Ambulance
Fire Boat Fire Boat Fire Boat
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DHS will evaluate the marginal value derived from an additional
vehicle of any given type on the basis of call volume. As a result,
departments with fewer vehicles of a given type than other departments
who service comparable call volumes are more likely to score
competitively than departments with more vehicles of that type and
comparable call volume unless the need for an additional vehicle of
such type is made apparent in the application.
As in 2007, applicants in the 2008 program year may submit requests
for more than one vehicle. Applicants must supply sufficient
justification for each vehicle contained in the request. For those
applications with multiple vehicles, the panelists will be instructed
to evaluate the marginal benefit to be derived from funding the
additional vehicle(s) given the potential use and the population
protected. DHS anticipates that the panels will only recommend an award
for a multiple-vehicles application when the cost-benefit justification
is adequately compelling.
DHS believes that a greater benefit will be derived from funding an
additional vehicle(s) to departments that own fewer or no vehicles of
the type requested. As such, DHS assigns a higher competitive rating in
the apparatus category to fire departments that own fewer firefighting
vehicles relative to other departments serving similar types of
communities (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural). DHS assesses all
vehicles with similar functions when assessing the number of vehicles a
department possesses within a particular type. For example, the
``pumper'' category includes: Pumpers, engines, pumper/tankers
(apparatus that carries a minimum of 300 gallons of water and has a
pump with a capacity to pump a minimum of 750 gallons per minute),
rescue-pumpers, quints (with aerials less than 76 feet in length), and
urban interface vehicles (Type I). Apparatus that has water capacity in
excess of 1,000 gallons and a pump with pumping capacity of less than
750 gallons per minute are considered to be a tanker/tender.
DHS assigns a higher competitive rating to departments possessing
an aged fleet of firefighting vehicles. DHS will also assign a higher
competitive rating to departments that respond to a high volume of
incidents.
DHS will give lower priority to funding departments seeking
apparatus with the goal to expand into new mission areas unless the
applicant demonstrates that they will be able to support and sustain
the new mission or service area beyond the grant program.
DHS will assign no competitive advantage to the purchase of
standard model commercial vehicles relative to custom vehicles, or the
purchase of used vehicles relative to new vehicles in the preliminary
evaluation of applications. DHS has noted that, depending on the type
and size of department, the peer review panelists often prefer low-cost
vehicles when evaluating the cost-benefit section of the project
narratives. DHS also reserves the right to consider current vehicle
costs within the fire service vehicle manufacturing industry when
determining the level of funding that will be offered to the potential
grantee, particularly if those current costs indicate that the
applicant's proposed purchase costs are excessive.
DHS will allow departments serving urban or suburban communities to
apply for more than one vehicle. DHS, however, will only allow
departments serving rural communities to apply for one vehicle. DHS
will limit applications from suburban or urban departments to one
vehicle per station as well as per statutory funding limits. DHS will
not limit 2008 applications because of a vehicle award from previous
AFG program years.
(3) Administrative Costs. Panelists will assess the reasonability
of the administrative costs requested in any application and determine
if the request is reasonable and in the best interest of the program.
Nonaffiliated EMS Organization Priorities
DHS may make grants for the purpose of enhancing the provision of
emergency medical services by nonaffiliated EMS organizations. The
statute limits funding for these organizations to no more than 2
percent of the appropriated amount. DHS has determined that it is more
cost-effective to enhance or expand an existing emergency medical
service organization by providing training and/or equipment than to
create a new service. Communities that do not currently offer emergency
medical services but are turning to this grant program to initiate such
a service received the lowest competitive rating. DHS does not believe
creating a nonaffiliated EMS program is a substantial and sufficient
benefit under the program.
Specific rating criteria and priorities for each of the grant
categories are provided below following the descriptions of this year's
eligible programs. The rating criteria, in conjunction with the program
description, provide an understanding of the evaluation standards. In
each activity, the amount of the population served by the applicant
will be taken into consideration with higher populations afforded more
consideration than low populations served. DHS will further explain
program priorities in the Program Guidance upon publication thereof.
(1) EMS Operations and Safety Program
Five different activities may be funded under this program area:
EMS training, EMS equipment, EMS personal protective equipment,
wellness and fitness, and modifications to facilities. Requests for
equipment and training to prepare for response to incidents involving
CBRNE were available under the applicable equipment and training
activities.
[[Page 13558]]
(i) Training Activities. DHS believes that upgrading a service that
currently meets a basic life support capacity to a higher level of life
support creates the most benefit. Therefore, DHS will give a higher
competitive rating to nonaffiliated EMS organizations that seek to
upgrade from first responder to EMT-B level or EMT-I level of service.
Because training is a prerequisite to the effective use of EMS
equipment, organizations with requests that focused more on training
activities received a higher competitive rating than organizations
whose requests focused more on equipment. The second priority is to
elevate emergency responders' capabilities from EMT-B or EMT-I to a
higher level of service.
(ii) EMS Equipment Acquisition. As noted above, training received a
higher competitive rating than equipment. Applications seeking
assistance to purchase equipment to support the EMT-B level or EMT-I
level of service received a higher priority than requests seeking
assistance to purchase equipment to support advance level EMS services.
Items that are eligible but a lower priority include tents, shelters,
generators, lights, and heating and cooling units. Firefighting
equipment is not eligible under this activity.
As discussed previously, organizations taking on ``new risks'' will
be afforded much higher consideration than an organization taking on a
``new mission.''
(iii) EMS Personal Protective Equipment. DHS gives the same
priorities for EMS PPE as it did for fire department PPE discussed
above. Acquisition of PASS devices or any firefighting PPE is not
eligible, however, for funding for EMS organizations.
(iv) Wellness and Fitness Activities. DHS believes that to have an
effective wellness/fitness program, nonaffiliated EMS organizations
must offer periodic health screenings, entry physical examinations, and
an immunization program similar to the programs for fire departments
discussed previously. Accordingly, applicants for grants in this
category must currently offer or plan to offer with grant funds all
three benefits (periodic health screenings, entry physical
examinations, and an immunization program) to receive funding for any
other initiatives in this activity. The priorities for EMS wellness/
fitness programs are the same as for fire departments as discussed
above.
(v) Modification to EMS Stations and Facilities. DHS believes that
the competitive rankings and priorities applied to modification of fire
stations and facilities, discussed above, apply equally to EMS stations
and facilities.
(2) EMS Vehicle Acquisition Program
DHS gives the highest funding priority to acquisition of ambulances
and transport vehicles due to the inherent benefits to the community
and EMS service provider. Due to the costs associated with obtaining
and outfitting non-transport rescue vehicles relative to the benefits
derived from such vehicles, DHS will give non-transport rescue vehicles
a lower competitive rating than transport vehicles. DHS anticipates
that the EMS vehicle awards will be very competitive due to very
limited available funding. Accordingly, DHS will likely only fund
vehicles that are listed as a ``Priority One'' in the 2008 program
year.
The following chart delineates the priorities in this program area
for EMS vehicle program. The priorities are the same regardless of the
type of community served.
EMS Vehicle Priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priority one Priority two Priority three
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ambulance or First Command
transport unit to responder non- vehicles.
support EMT-B needs transport vehicles Hovercraft.
and functions Special Other special
operations vehicles access vehicles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Along with the priorities illustrated above, DHS has accepted the
fire service recommendation that emerged from the criteria development
process that funding applicants that own few or no vehicles of the type
sought will be more beneficial than funding applicants that own
numerous vehicles of that same type. DHS assesses the number of
vehicles an applicant owns by including all vehicles of the same type.
For example, transport vehicles will be considered the same as
ambulances. DHS will give a higher competitive rating to applicants
that have an aged fleet of emergency vehicles, and to applicants with
old, high-mileage vehicles. DHS will give a higher competitive rating
to applicants that respond to a significant number of incidents
relative to applicants responding less often. Finally, DHS will afford
applicants with transport vehicles with high mileage more consideration
than applicants with vehicles that driven extensively.
(3) Administrative Costs. Panelists assess the reasonableness of
the administrative costs requested in each application and determined
whether the request will be reasonable and in the best interest of the
program.
Dated: March 10, 2008.
David Paulison,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. E8-5039 Filed 3-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-64-P