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Washington, D.C. – July 8, 2009 - Today, the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing to examine the Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant programs, together referred to as the FIRE grants. Current authorization for AFG will expire at the end of this fiscal year and the authorization for SAFER will expire at the end of FY 2010.
“In rural areas, many communities rely upon all-volunteer departments to respond to fires and other emergencies,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Adrian Smith (R-NE). “The equipment needed to fight fires and save lives and property is costly, and requires departments to have certain minimum response capabilities regardless of whether they are protecting a community of a few thousand people or a large city of a few hundred thousand people.”
“Acquiring these capabilities is particularly difficult in many small communities that do not possess the financial resources necessary to provide adequate support to these departments,” Smith continued. “As such, Firefighter grants have proven absolutely vital for rural and volunteer fire departments that have small tax bases and the least ability to acquire such equipment.”
Congress created AFG and SAFER to increase the safety of the public and firefighting personnel from fire and related hazards. The Federal Emergency Management Agency administers these programs, competitively awarding grants based on peer review recommendations of fire service members. FEMA has been tasked with the challenge of awarding grants to fire departments across the country. Witnesses focused testimony on recommended changes to the program, in particular focusing on how best to balance the needs of career, volunteer, and combination fire departments given funding constraints.
Voicing the support of rural volunteer departments, particularly for the AFG program, Mr. Ed Carlin, Training Officer for the Spalding, Nebraska Rural Volunteer Fire Department, said, “Obtaining equipment to protect our fire fighters and allow them to conduct their missions in a safe, efficient manner would be next to impossible without the AFG program. I believe this program is on the right track of fulfilling its objective of protecting the public and firefighters from the hazards of fire.”
Chief Jack Carriger, Stayton, Oregon Fire District First Vice Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, also voiced his support for reauthorization of AFG and SAFER. Carriger noted in his testimony that volunteer firefighters serving rural communities often need a greater amount of financial support. “In each of the past three years, an average of nearly 20,000 fire departments and EMS agencies have submitted requests for an average of more than $3 billion through AFG,” Carriger said. “The largest percentage of these requests – both in the number of applications and funds requested – have come from volunteer departments, which are first-due responders to approximately 70 percent of communities nationwide.”
Carriger continued, “Volunteer departments serve urban and suburban areas but are most highly concentrated in rural communities that have small tax bases and higher rates of poverty on average than larger jurisdictions. DHS needs assessments have consistently shown that equipment, training and apparatus needs are most acute in volunteer departments.”
The following witnesses testified today before the Subcommittee:
Panel I
Congressman Bill Pascrell, Representative from New Jersey – 8th District.
Panel II
Mr. Timothy Manning, Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, First Vice President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the Chief of the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue.
Chief Jack Carriger, Stayton, Oregon Fire District First Vice Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC).
Mr. Kevin O’Connor, Assistant to the General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
Chief Curt Varone, Division Manager of the Public Fire Protection Division for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Mr. Ed Carlin, Training Officer of the Spalding Rural Volunteer Fire Department in Spalding, Nebraska.
To read witness testimony, or for more information on today’s hearing, visit the GOP Science and Technology Committee website.
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