$350,000,000 in fire jobs grants
Grant Application Period: 8:00 a.m. ET, Friday, February 15, 2019 — 5:00 p.m. ET., Friday, March 22, 2019
NOFO Number: DHS-18-GPD-083-000-99
300 awards estimated for US Fire Service Organizations
The purpose of the SAFER Grant Program is to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments.
The objective of the SAFER grant program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities to respond to emergencies and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. Local fire departments accomplish this by improving staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively and safely respond to emergencies. With enhanced staffing levels, recipients should experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene.
Kurt says…
These are the areas where the NOFO indicated that the information is different from previous years
Applicants may now request to waive the position cost limit for new firefighters.
Pursuant to IB 427, applicants must indicate when they apply for an award whether they are requesting a waiver and what requirement they seek to waive.
The simplified acquisition threshold increased to $250,000.
The definition of “new recruit.”
Updated prioritization and eligibility tables.
What this grant does for your agency
Although not required for a SAFER grant, it is preferable that the enhanced staffing levels of all SAFER recipients should ensure that all first-arriving apparatus are staffed with a minimum of four qualified personnel (to meet National Fire Protection Association.
(NFPA) 1710/1720 standards) who are capable of initiating the suppression response. Ultimately, SAFER recipients should achieve more efficient responses and safer incident scenes, thereby ensuring communities have improved protection from fire and fire-related hazards.
SAFER offers grants to support projects in two activities. This NOFO provides potential eligible applicants with application requirements and details for processing and evaluating applications for financial assistance for both of these activity areas:
Hiring of Firefighters Activity is to hire new, additional firefighters to improve staffing levels or changing the status of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters
Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity is to assist fire departments with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with or trained in the operations of firefighting and emergency response
Agencies awarded the FY 2019 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) receive funds to recruit and hire firefighters.
Only a limited number of grants will be awarded:
Available funding for the NOFO: $350,000,000
Projected number of Awards: 300
Grant Eligibility
For full eligibility details, see the Grant Guidelines.
About FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helps people before, during, and after disasters. More
Grant Deadline
Grant applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. EST, Friday, Mar. 22, 2019.
Apply
Funding Opportunity Number: DHS-18-GPD-083-000-99
Apply for the FY 2019 Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grants (SAFER)