AFG Fire Grant news from FEMA
Each month, FEMA send updates on the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). Here’s the news from the month of August:
In this month’s update:
- FY 2022 AFG Program Status Update
- USDA Announces New Round of Community Wildfire Defense Grants
- AFG Staff at Fire Rescue International
- New FEMA GO Feature: Primary Contact Change
- Did You Know? – AFG Has a Cost Share Requirement
- September Fire Prevention Message – Smoke Alarm Recommendation
- Grant Management Training – Grants Record Keeping
- Closeout Module Available in FEMA GO
- AFGP Success Stories
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FY 2022 AFG Programs Status Update
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)
FY 2022 Award Notifications Continue
Round 5 of FY 22 AFG Awards Were Announced Aug. 11, and awards are expected to continue for the next several weeks. Turndown letters for those applications that did not go to peer-panel review are expected to go out soon. If you receive a turndown letter and would like more information, please contact your Regional Fire Program Representative.
Most high scoring applications are still in the technical review or award recommendation phase. Through this process it is likely that applicants will receive correspondence regarding pre-award costs requests (see article below) and/or be prompted to complete an Environmental and Historical Preservation (EHP) screening form. Click to download the EHP Screening Form. Completed forms must be sent to [email protected] for consideration.
AFG Award Listings: Assistance to Firefighters Grants | FEMA.gov
Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) and
Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S)
FY 2022 Award Notifications began Aug. 11
Many of the highest scoring applications for both of these programs remain in Technical Review, where program specialists examine the applications for eligibility, cost reasonableness, and accuracy. The highest scoring applications will be recommended for award on a rolling basis until the allocated funds are depleted.
SAFER Award Listings: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) | FEMA.gov
FP&S Award Listings: Fire Prevention and Safety | FEMA.gov
USDA Announces New round of Investments in Wildfire Protection Through Community Wildfire Defense Grants
the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service is again accepting applications for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. Now in its second year, this competitive program funded by President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is designed to assist at-risk communities, including tribal communities, non-profit organizations, state forestry agencies and Alaska Native Corporations with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks. Applications will be accepted for 90 days.
AFG Staff at IAFC Fire Rescue International
The International Association of Fire Chiefs will host the 2023 Fire Rescue International on August 16-18 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. AFGP Branch Director, Cathie Patterson along with Program Analyst Cathy Severs will be available in the U.S. Fire Administration Booth #3409 to answer questions and discuss the program.
New FEMA GO Feature: Primary Contact Change
FEMA GO has added a function that will allow recipients to submit an amendment request within the system to change the primary contact for a specific application. The change will be in the review panel of amendment request. After submission, AFG Program staff will select the type of amendment request, then select the new primary contact from the organization profile as a part of the review. AFG Grants Management Staff will verify and give final approval for the change. The new primary contact must already be listed as an Authorized Organization Representative for the organization at the time the amendment is processed. The amendment process is only available after the award has been made.
To change the primary contact for the award, the recipient must follow these steps:
- Login to FEMA GO and select the award that requires the primary contact change.
- Go to the “select an action” button and choose “request an amendment from the drop-down menu.
- In the narrative section indicate that the amendment is to change the primary contact for the award and provide the contact information for the new primary contact. Ensure that two phone numbers are provided.
Did You Know?
AFG Has a Cost Share Requirement
Recipient cost sharing is generally required as described below and pursuant to 15 U.S.C.§2229(k)(1). In general, eligible applicants shall agree to make available non-federal funds to carry out an AFG Program award in an amount equal to not less than 15% of the federal funds awarded.
Exceptions to this general requirement apply to entities serving smaller communities as follows:
- When serving a jurisdiction of 20,000 residents or fewer, the applicant shall agree to make available non-federal funds in an amount equal to not less than 5% of the grant awarded;
- When serving a jurisdiction of more than 20,000 residents but not more than 1 million residents, the applicant shall agree to make available non-federal funds in an amount equal to not less than 10% of the grant awarded;
- When serving a jurisdiction of more than 1 million residents, the applicant shall agree to make available non-federal funds in an amount equal to not less than 15% of the grant awarded.
The cost share for SFTAs will apply the requirements above based on the total population of the state. The cost share for a Regional application will apply the requirements above based
on the aggregate population of the primary first due response areas of the host and
participating partner organizations that execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as
described in Appendix B: Regional Applications
FEMA has developed a cost share calculator tool to assist applicants with determining their cost share. The cost share tool is available at https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/firefighters/assistance-grants.
Types of Cost Share
- Cash (Hard Match): Cost share of non-federal cash is the only allowable recipient contribution for AFG Program activity (Vehicle Acquisition, Operations and Safety, and Regional).
- Trade-In Allowance/Credit: On a case-by-case basis, FEMA may allow recipients already owning assets acquired with non-federal cash to use the trade-in allowance/credit value of those assets as cash for the purpose of meeting their cost share obligation. For FEMA to consider a trade-in allowance/credit value as cash, the allowance amount must be reasonable, and the allowance amount must be a separate entry clearly identified in the acquisition documents.
- In-kind (Soft Match): In-kind cost share is not allowed for the AFG Program.
The award budget will not account for any voluntary committed cost sharing or overmatch. The use of an overmatch is not given additional consideration when scoring applications.
September Fire Prevention Message
Smoke Alarm Placement
Key messages:
If you sleep with the bedroom door closed, install smoke alarms inside and outside the bedroom. For the best protection, make sure all smoke alarms are interconnected. When one smoke alarm sounds, they all sound.
Grants Management Training
Grants Record Keeping
Detailed record keeping of grant activities is critical to managing and closing out the award. Grant records serve to tell the story of a grant from application to closeout. One of the best practices for organizing grant records is to use a three-ring, tabbed binder. This allows for the grant file to be clearly marked on the outside and organized within. Here is a list of documents that are recommended to be maintained in your grant record:
- Respective Notice of Funding Opportunity
- Application
- Award Package
- Procurement Policy
- Specifications
- Advertisements to Bid
- Bids/Quotes Received
- Procurement Decision Documents
- Invoices
- Canceled Checks or other approved proof of payment
- Required Financial and Programmatic Reports
- Amendment Requests
- Closeout Report
Organizing grant records in this way paints a complete picture of what was accomplished through the grant award. If a recipient was subject to a monitoring visit or audit, the visiting official would have all the information necessary to conduct their business. In addition, keeping grant records in this manner simplifies the closeout process by ensuring that all documents necessary are readily available. One of the components of the closeout report is a qualitative narrative explaining what was accomplished within the context of the grant and what impact it had on the recipient’s organization. Organized grant records provide the historical information necessary to develop this narrative even if the person writing it was not involved with the management of the award.
Closeout Report Available in FEMA GO
The closeout module has been released in FEMA GO for recipients that have received AFG awards from 2018 to 2020. Recipients with awards that are no longer open will have 90 days to complete the module. If an award still has an open period of performance (POP), the recipient will have to wait until the POP ends to initiate the closeout process and will have 90 to 120 days to complete the process. Do not start your closeout if there is a chance that more funds or an amendment could be requested as these functions will no longer be available. A tutorial on the closeout process is available by clicking here.
For closeout help, contact your Regional Fire Program Representative or the AFG Helpdesk toll-free at 1-866-274-0960 or email [email protected]
AFGP Success Stories
Gloucester City Fire Department – Gloucester City, NJ
Awarded items: Swiftwater rescue training
Submitted by: Battalion Chief Patrick Hagan
On July 11 at 13:01 hours, the Gloucester City Fire Department (GCFD) Battalion 5 and Squad 51/Swiftwater 5 were dispatched to Little Timber Creek on the border of Gloucester City and Brooklawn for Water Rescue Assignment. The initial report from dispatch was a 14-year-old male fell from the train trestle and went into the water. Due to the strong current, he was unable to swim to shore. The GCFD was delayed from getting dispatched because the location originally reported was not in Gloucester City or on its border. Once initial dispatched units confirmed the location the GCFD was dispatched (within 3 minutes).
GCFD units arrived in Swiftwater PPE and ran approximately 200 yards down the tracks to get to the water’s edge. Upon arriving police units on scene from Gloucester and Brooklawn were able to throw the victim a life vest, but he was too tired and had extreme difficulty putting it on and staying afloat because of the strong current. Referring to their training (Reach, Throw, Row, Go), the GCFD was able to throw the victim a rescue rope but was unable to remove victim from the water due to the current and the teenagers’ exhaustion. This called for one of the GCFD Rescuers to be the “Go” swimmer and rescue the boy. Quicky the GCFD members tethered to the shore jumped in the water and swam to rescue the 14-year-old victim. The remaining rescuers were then able to lift the victim over the retaining wall and out of the water. The patient was assessed by EMS but was uninjured.
This act of valor was a team effort of the members of Gloucester City Fire Department’s Squad 51/Swiftwater 5. Within less than five minutes of being on location and running on the railroad tracks 200 yards to the creeks edge the members made the necessary decisions to safely rescue an exhausted young male from danger and/or death. Too many times as public safety officers we see this type of incident end in tragedy, but because of the courageous acts of valor the boy will be able to enjoy the rest of his summer. Without the funds for training and equipment under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program this rescue would have never been made. We like to thank FEMA and the DHS for their continued support and making these types of funding opportunities available to us.
SHARE YOUR SUCCESS STORY
Do you have a Success Story regarding a FEMA Grant that you’d like to share with everyone? Contact us at [email protected] or through Twitter @FEMAGrants using a private message.
Have Feedback?
The AFG Program Office always welcomes feedback from the AFG community. If there are topics or information that you may find helpful in future monthly updates from the AFG Program, please send any thoughts to the AFG Help Desk ([email protected]).