Program Details
Fire Management Assistance Grant Program
Declaration Process
Declarations operate on a 24-hour real-time basis and are frequently conducted over the telephone and with written follow-up. The Governor of a State submits request for a fire management assistance declaration to the Regional Director while the fire is burning uncontrolled. The Regional Director gathers State's information, calls upon the Principal Advisor for an assessment, and develops a Regional summary and recommendation to be forwarded to the Under Secretary, or designee.
The Under Secretary, or designee, approves or denies requests based on:
- The conditions that existed at the time of the request;
- Whether or not the fire or fire complex threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.
There are four criteria that the Under Secretary, or designee, evaluates the threat posed by a fire or fire complex:
- Threat to lives and improved property, including threats to critical facilities/infrastructure, and critical watershed areas;
- Availability of State and local firefighting resources;
- High fire danger conditions, as indicated by nationally accepted indices such as the National Fire Danger Ratings System;
- Potential major economic impact.
After making a determination, the Under Secretary, or designee, notifies the Regional Director who in turn notifies the State. A State has one opportunity to appeal any FEMA declaration turn down. The Recovery Division Director will render the determination on the appeal, which will be the final administrative decision for FEMA.
Cost Share
The FMAGP provide a 75 percent Federal cost share for actual eligible costs incurred.
Fire Cost Threshold
Before an initial grant award to the State under a FMAGP declaration can be approved, the State must demonstrate that total eligible costs for the declared fire meet or exceed either the individual fire cost threshold, which is applied to a single fire, or the cumulative fire cost threshold, which recognizes numerous smaller fires burning throughout a State. Under the cumulative fire cost threshold, assistance will only be provided for the declared fire responsible for meeting or exceeding the cumulative fire cost threshold and any future declared fires for that calendar year.
The individual fire cost threshold for a State is the greater of:
- $100,000, or
- Five percent x $1.14* x the State population.
*FY 2005. This dollar amount is adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor. (Get the FY2006 numbers)
The cumulative fire cost threshold for a State is the greater of the following:
- $500,000; or
- Three times the five percent x $1.14* x the State population.
*FY 2005. This dollar amount is adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor.
Eligible Entities
- States and Indian tribal governments may act as the Grantee
- State, Indian tribal, and local entities may apply to the Grantee for subgrants
Eligible Costs
- Costs for equipment and supplies (less insurance proceeds);
- Costs for emergency work (evacuations and sheltering, police barricading and traffic control, arson investigation);
- Costs for State emergency operations center (when used as a Unified Command Center);
- Costs for the pre-positioning of Federal, out-of State, and international resources for up to 21 days;
- Cost of personal comfort and safety items for firefighter health and safety;
- Costs for field camps and meals in lieu of per diem;
- Costs for mobilization and demobilization costs;
- Costs for the temporary repair of damage cause by firefighting activities;
- Costs for the mitigation, management, and control of declared fires burning on co-mingled Federal land, when such costs are not reimbursable by another Federal agency.
Appeals
A State may also appeal any FEMA grant determination made on eligibility. This type of appeal is a two-level process. The Regional Director will make the determination on the first level appeal. The Recovery Division Director will hear the second level appeal and provide the final administrative decision for FEMA.
Last Modified: Monday, 29-Jan-2007 12:58:00 EST