From coast to coast and in between, 11 First Responder Grants clients have won a combined $1,547,140 in fire grants from the FY 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). These awards were announced as part of the AFG and SAFER fire grant awards announced during August 31, 2018, through September 14, 2018.
To-date First Responder Grants clients and students have won a combined $6,062,841 in fire grants under FY 2017 AFG, SAFER, and FP&S this year.
AFG, SAFER, and FP&S fire grants are administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“Whether hundreds of dollars or millions of dollars, these vital fire grant programs can aid your department with equipment, training, and staffing,” says Kurt Bradley, Senior Grants Consultant at First Responder Grants. “By having clear, compelling narratives, and applications that met program requirements, these eleven winners not only have reached the grant winner’s circle, they can now better protect their personnel and their communities.”
About First Responder Grants
Public safety agencies nationwide rely on First Responder Grants for grant writing training, grant consulting, and the latest news and tips and news for writing winning grant applications. Since 1998, our Certified Grants Consultants have helped public safety agencies like yours win over $2,000,000,000 in grant funding. Our grant writing training students learn to write competitive grants that bring home additional funding dollars to your agency, but that’s not all. Students receiving First Responder Grants training in grant writing maintain a documented +80% success rate at winning a grant award after attending our classes—many on their very first application.
FEMA has announced Round 7 fire jobs grant winners for the FY 2017 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants program. FEMA awarded 13 fire service hiring grants totaling $15,945,893, including:
City of Belton, Belton, TX, Fire Prevention, $24,158
Childrens Burn Foundation, Sherman Oaks, CA, Fire Prevention, $578,691
The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, Research and Prevention, $1,241,435
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Emmitsburg, MD, Fire Prevention, $1,428,572
Underwriters Laboratories Inc., Northbrook, IL, Research, $1,500,000
Subsequent SAFER fire jobs grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest SAFER fire grant news.
FEMA has announced Round 10 fire safety and prevention grant winners for the FY 2017 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants program. FEMA awarded 18 fire grants totaling $19,655,982, including:
Garfield Fire Department, Garfield, NJ, Recruitment, $88,000
Micro Volunteer Fire Department, Micro, NC, Recruitment, $213,792
Pelham Fire Department, Pelham, NH, Hiring, $682,991
University City Fire Department, University City, MO, Hiring, $1,914,395
Coppell Fire Department, Coppell, TX, Hiring, $2,893,637
Subsequent FP&S fire safety and prevention grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest FP&S fire grant news.
FEMA has announced Round 11 fire grant winners for the FY 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). FEMA awarded 33 fire grants totaling $19,385,110, including:
Liberty Fire Dept., Liberty, KY, Operations and Safety, $3,418, Training ($3,588)
South Stokes Fire DP, Walnut Cove, NC, Operations and Safety, $40,667, Equipment ($42,700)
Chokio Fire Department, Chokio, MN, Operations and Safety, $82,762, Personal Protective Equipment ($86,400)
Dauntless Hook and Ladder Company, Selinsgrove, PA, Operations and Safety, $104,977, Equipment ($110,225)
Bloomfield Volunteer Fire Department, Bloomfield, IA, Operations and Safety, $256,581, Equipment ($143,010) || Personal Protective Equipment ($126,400)
Union Grove Vol. Fire Dept., Jemison, AL, Vehicle Acquisition, $348,000, Vehicle Acquisition ($365,000)
Ross-Augusta Fire Dept., Augusta, MI, Regional Request, $670,656, Equipment ($737,714)
Evanston Fire & Life Safety Services, Evanston, IL, Regional Request, $1,440,218, Equipment ($1,551,239)
San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco, CA, Operations and Safety, $2,733,591, Equipment ($2,520,000)
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, Mather, CA, Regional Request, $3,450,000, Personal Protective Equipment ($3,816,000)
Subsequent AFG fire grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest AFG news.
Application Period: Mon., Sept. 24, 2018, 8 a.m. EST — Fri., Oct. 26, 5 p.m. EST
$315,000,000 available for Fire Service Organizations
The purpose of the AFG Program is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters
with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. The program provides direct financial
assistance to eligible fire departments, nonaffiliated emergency medical service (EMS)
organizations, and State Fire Training Academies (SFTA). The funds provide critically
needed resources that equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards,
enhance operational efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community
resilience.
What this grant does for your agency
The AFG Program also addresses the following “Core Capabilities” of the National
Preparedness Goal:
Fire Management and Suppression
Environmental Response/Health and Safety
Threats and Hazards Identification
Public Health, Healthcare, and Emergency Medical Services
Operational Coordination
OperationalCommunications
Mass Search and Rescue Operations
Community Resilience
Long-term VulnerabilityReduction
Agencies awarded the FY 2018 Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) receive fire grants to help them enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards.
2,500 awards are projected to be awarded (but this number is only an estimate).
Application resources and materials
The application assistance tools below can help you understand the AFG program and prepare your application:
First Responder Grants Senior Consultant Kurt Bradley has helped fire service organizations nationwide win hundreds of millions of dollars in AFG funds. Here are his tips for 2018 AFG:
Review the NOFO carefully 2-3 times. I cannot emphasize this enough. The #1 reason grants are rejected is failure to read and follow directions.
Read the questions several times. Then answer the questions, being careful to take full credit for the answer you give.
High priority items only. Do not bother going after anything that is marked as medium or low priority. AFG will only fund high priority items, and that high priority is set by AFG, not you.
Requesting funds for turnout gear? If going after turnout gear, you need to be replacing at least 50% of your department’s gear. The gear being replaced also needs to be at least 13-14 years of age to get any priority at all.
Choose your answers carefully. Be careful about your selection for why you are replacing equipment or PPE. Read all choices clearly before selecting. There are new choices this year, so read the NOFO carefully before selecting your answer. The wrong answer can cause your request to be instantly rejected. This was a top reason for grants being rejected by computer last year.
Vehicle acquisitions? Even though only about 100 fire trucks are given away per year, apparatus is AFG’s most requested item. Even if you have the strongest need, trucks are a roll of the dice. AFG only funds about 10-15 trucks over the $500,000 mark per year. Have a plan B in mind to replace trucks. Also, be sure your request is “reasonable” in cost, no bells or whistles.
Check your math. Be sure numbers that you put down in answer boxes add up correctly to totals listed elsewhere. They should also agree with what you are stating in your narratives. Inconsistencies are cause for rejection.
Don’t procrastinate. Get your application done, make sure it’s rock solid, and submit it as soon as possible. Don’t wait till a week before it’s due. Start now: get it composed, proof-read, entered, and submitted.
Structure micro-grants to new funding limits. Micro-grants now have a $50,000 maximum, so make sure your micro-grant is specific and keeps under that limit.
Fire Departments
Fire departments operating in any of the 50 states, as well as fire departments in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization. A fire department is an agency or organization having a formally recognized arrangement with a state, territory, local, or tribal authority (city, county, parish, fire district, township, town, or other governing body) to provide fire suppression to a population within a geographically fixed primary first due response area.
Nonaffiliated EMS organizations
Nonaffiliated EMS organizations operating in any of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally recognized Indian tribe or tribal organization. A nonaffiliated EMS organization is an agency or organization that is a public or private nonprofit emergency medical service entity providing medical transport that is not affiliated with a hospital and does not serve a geographic area in which emergency medical services are adequately provided by a fire department.
State Fire Training Academies
A State Fire Training Academy (SFTA) operates in any of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Applicants must be designated either by legislation or by a Governor’s declaration as the sole fire service training agency within a state, territory, or the District of Columbia. The designated SFTA shall be the only agency/bureau/division, or entity within that state, territory, or the District of Columbia.
About the FEMA
FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters. More
Grant Deadline
Grant applications are due no later than Fri., Oct. 26, 5 p.m. EST.
The FY 2018 AFG open application opportunity is right around the corner (September 24 tentative start date) Begin preparing for the FY 2018 open application period by reviewing the available application assistance tools below.
Beginning September 17, 2018, AFGP staff will host two live webinar series to educate organizations on what is new for FY 2018. The Application Workshop webinars will teach attendees about the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, its mission, which organizations and activities are eligible, and how to apply.
A Fire Program Analyst will provide updates that apply to the FY 2018 application and some help tips in preparing your application. We will also have our Application Walk-thru webinars which gives attendees a section by section view of the application with AFG staff to explain and answer questions.
FEMA has announced Round 9 fire jobs grant winners for the FY 2017 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants program. FEMA awarded 24 fire service hiring grants totaling $14,121,763, including:
Abingdon Fire Company, Inc., Abingdon, MD, Recruitment, $98,200
City of Girard Fire Department, Girard, OH, Hiring, $281,247
Hazleton Fire Department, Hazleton, PA, Hiring, $360,612
South Pasadena Fire Department, South Pasadena, FL, Hiring, $453,941
Metro North Fire Protection District, St. Louis , MO, Hiring, $754,800
City of Kennewick Fire Department, Kennewick, WA, Hiring, $2,338,881
Graham Fire & Rescue, Graham, WA, Hiring, $3,570,493
Subsequent SAFER fire jobs grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest SAFER fire grant news.
FEMA has announced Round 6 fire safety and prevention grant winners for the FY 2017 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants program. FEMA awarded a Fire Prevention grant, to Clark County Fire District 3, Brush Prairie, WA, totaling $12,732.
Subsequent FP&S fire safety and prevention grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest FP&S fire grant news.
FEMA has announced Round 10 fire grant winners for the FY 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). FEMA awarded 208 fire grants totaling $47,218,686, including:
Perth Volunteer Fire Company, Amsterdam, NY, Operations and Safety, $2,186, Equipment ($2,195)
District 3 Volunteer Fire Department , Yazoo City, MS, Operations and Safety, $20,953, Equipment ($22,000)
Sissonville Fire Department, Inc., Charleston, WV, Operations and Safety, $99,750, Personal Protective Equipment ($80,400) || Training ($21,325)
Ashmore Fire Protection District, Ashmore, IL, Vehicle Acquisition, $237,143, Vehicle Acquisition ($249,000)
Laurel Springs Fire Department, Laurel Springs, NJ, Vehicle Acquisition, $641,905, Vehicle Acquisition ($674,000)
Montgomery Fire Department, Montgomery, WV, Regional Request, $885,910, Personal Protective Equipment ($973,000)
City of Eugene (Eugene Springfield Fire), Eugene, OR, Operations and Safety, $1,254,546, Equipment ($1,380,000)
Baltimore City Fire Department, Baltimore, MD, Operations and Safety, $2,517,000, Equipment ($284,700) || Personal Protective Equipment ($1,206,000) || Training ($1,278,000)
Philadelphia Fire Department, Philadelphia, PA, Operations and Safety, $2,733,636, Training ($37,100)
Subsequent AFG fire grants will be announced on Fridays but may not occur every week. Check First Responder Grants each week for the latest AFG news.
FEMA has announced Round 7 fire jobs grant winners for the FY 2017 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants program. FEMA awarded 13 fire service hiring grants totaling $15,945,893, including:
FEMA has announced Round 10 fire safety and prevention grant winners for the FY 2017 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants program. FEMA awarded 18 fire grants totaling $19,655,982, including:
FEMA has announced Round 11 fire grant winners for the FY 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG). FEMA awarded 33 fire grants totaling $19,385,110, including: