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FEMA Grants and Scott Products
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This guide has been prepared to help your department seek funding under the U.S. Fire Administrations Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Under the program, fire departments will be awarded one-year grants. During 2002, more than 7,300 paid and volunteer fire departments received $442-million in funding. This year, $750-million will be available.
Information for this guide has been drawn from the U.S. Fire Demonstration/FEMA website www.usfa.fema.gov and applicants should consult the website to obtain additional information. The information presented here is designed specifically for those departments seeking funding to purchase such equipment as SCBA, spare cylinders, integrated PASS devices, communications equipment integrated with an SCBA and thermal imaging cameras.
Completed applications must be submitted to USFA on or before 5 p.m. EST, April 4, 2003. Late applications will not be accepted.
Eligibility is generally limited to recognized fire departments. Some airport and/or port facilities may also be eligible. A municipality or fire district may submit an application on behalf of a fire department when the department lacks the legal status to do so. When that occurs, the fire department may not submit an additional application of its own. Complete eligibility rules can be found at the FEMA website
www.usfa.fema.gov.
Eligible applicants are limited to submitting only one application per program year.
The application process is available on the U.S. Fire Administration website www.usfa.fema.gov. Your application can be saved and retrieved as many times as necessary as your completing it. However, once you have submitted the application, it cannot be changed. The automated application process will not allow submission of an incomplete application because it alerts you that you have not provided required
information. After submitting your completed application online, you will be automatically notified that the USFA has received it.
Paper applications are discouraged and departments should avoid making them. Your department will stand a better chance to secure funding by applying online.
Applications receiving funding will be limited to addressing any one of four program areas. To purchase firefighting or personal protective equipment, you must choose the "Fire Operations andFirefighter Safety Program.”
Departments seeking funding for this type of equipment must apply under the Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Program section. Your department should develop a comprehensive program to address all of your specific needs in applying for funding under the Operations and Firefighter Safety Program. For example, if you apply for funding to purchase SCBA, you could specify that the funding would be used to support the following individual activities:
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Purchase of the SCBA equipment. |
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Training firefighters in SCBA operations. |
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Establishment of a respiratory protection or SCBA maintenance program. |
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Purchase of a refill station to support SCBA use. |
One authorized representative of a department will be able to log on under the online “egrant” electronic application process. The log on process involves creating a user name and password.
The electronic application includes all of the forms necessary for the application and will ask you to answer general questions about your department community and your proposed project.
The program will then ask you to answer specific questions related to the program you have selected, as well as the specific activities you propose. Answer the questions for each of the activities that support your project.
Also, you will be required to provide a written narrative describing your planned project. In developing this narrative, you should provide detailed, specific information including:
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Budget details – How will the funding you are proposing be spent; when will it be spent and where? |
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Financial need – Why are you seeking funding; what prevents your department from financially supporting the project without grant funding? |
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Community/department benefits – Specifically how will your department and community benefit? |
Yes. An easy way to prepare the application narrative will be to prepare it in a Microsoft Word, or similar program, and then cut and paste it into the online application. Space for the narrative is limited, so it shouldn’t exceed five pages.
FEMA will rank applications based on their substance relative to their established program priorities. If you apply for more than one activity, each activity will be scored separately. For example, if you are applying for $6,000 in equipment and $4,000 in training, the equipment portion of your proposal will represent 60% of your score; the training portion 40%. The number of activities listed won’t provide any advantage or
disadvantage.
Applications that best address the grant program’s priorities will score higher than those not directed toward priorities. Grant program priorities are described in the Notice of Funds Availability on the FEMA website.
Applications scoring the highest will be determined to be in the “competitive range” and a panel of three technical evaluation specialists will further evaluate these applications. Applications will be judged using the project narrative, along with answers to the general questions and activity-specific questions.
The specialists will evaluate your proposal’s clarity. Your project’s budget detail, your financial need and the potential benefits of the project will each carry equal weight. The specialists will consider all expenses budgeted, including administrative and/or indirect, as part of their cost-benefit review. They will review each application in its entirety and compare it against established evaluation criteria.
Your department’s answers to the activity-specific questions will determine whether the application will be considered for further evaluation. Projects consistent with FEMA’s established priorities will have a better chance of reaching the competitive range for further review.
These are the five activities available for funding under this program. However, certain equipment purchases – such as SCBA or thermal imaging cameras -- should be listed under these activity sections:
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Training activities |
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Firefighting equipment acquisition |
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Personal protective equipment acquisition |
You should use the “personal protective equipment acquisition” section to define your needs for equipment like SCBA. The “training activities” and “firefighting equipment acquisition” sections can be used to provide supporting documentation for an SCBA purchase
For example, a department applying for $20,000 for a program to obtain breathing
apparatus could structure its proposal in the following manner:
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$15,000 for the purchase of SCBA under the “personal protective equipment acquisition” section. |
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$3,000 for the purchase of a compressor system under the “firefighting equipment acquisition” section. |
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$2,000 for training under the “training activities” section. |
Applications that include a request for integrated PASS devices will be given a higher priority compared to applications for PASS devices not integrated into the SCBA.
Funding for communications equipment, such as voice amplifiers or radio interface equipment, should be submitted under the “firefighting equipment acquisition” section.
Thermal imaging camera funding should be requested under the “firefighting equipment acquisition” section. The number of cameras that can be purchased with grant funding will be based on the population served by the department. Departments can request funding based on the following camera quantity and population breakdown:
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Limit on quantity of
cameras requested |
Population
served |
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1 |
Less than 20,000 |
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2 |
20,000 to 50,000 |
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3 |
Over 50,000 |
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What about requests for personal accountability systems?
Personal accountability systems, like Scott’s SEMS, should be proposed under the "firefighting equipment acquisition” section.
How will a proposed equipment purchase be evaluated?
FEMA will fund “those applicants needing to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to a high percentage of their personnel.” That means higher competitive rating will go to fire departments in the following situations:
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Departments seeking SCBA in which a large percentage of their active firefighting staff does not have any personal protective equipment. |
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Departments seeking to purchase enough PPE to equip 100 percent of their active firefighters. |
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Departments purchasing PPE equipment for the first time, as opposed to departments replacing obsolete or substandard equipment (e.g. equipment that does not meet current NFPA and OSHA standards), or purchasing equipment for a new mission. |
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For departments replacing obsolete or substandard equipment, the age of the equipment to be replaced will be factored into the score with a higher priority given to older equipment. |
What considerations will earn a higher priority for applications submitted under
this category?
The number of fire response calls that a department makes will be considered with the higher priority going to departments with higher call volumes. Rural departments will be compared only to other rural departments, while suburban departments and urban departments will be compared only to other suburban and urban departments.
How will the costs cited in a proposal be considered?
Each application in the competitive range will be judged on its own merits. The panelists will consider all expenses budgeted, including administrative and indirect, as part of the cost-benefit determination and may recommend appropriate adjustments. Regardless of eligibility of any costs requested, requests for assistance may be reduced, in whole or in part, if costs cited are considered excessive or otherwise contrary to the best interests of the program.
How will awards be made?
Awards will be made on a competitive basis using a rank order as the primary basis for awarding funding. In some cases, FEMA may make exceptions to this rank order process because of limitations placed on the amount of funding that can be made for vehicles, as well as other restrictions.
How will be overall amount of funding be allocated?
Career departments will be competing against other career departments for up to 46 of the total available funding. Volunteer and combination departments will compete among each other for at least 54 percent of the funding.
Can departments which received grant funding in earlier years receive
funding in 2003?
Yes. However, FEMA reserves the right to fund or not fund previous recipients and may
take into account an applicant’s performance on prior grants.
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| Who has the Best Chance to get Funding |
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Only those applicants who satisfy the Fire Grant program’s guidelines will be considered for funding. Applicants who most closely meet the intent of the program will stand a better chance of securing funding. The program is not based on first come-first served.
To ensure the best chance of securing funding follow these 3 steps:
1. Focus on grant priorities
Under the Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Program, these are how FEMA
describes its high priorities:
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Obtaining basic equipment to meet minimum codes and standards. |
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Obtaining never owned equipment vs. replacements for used or obsolete equipment. |
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The replacement of old and obsolete equipment vs. replacement of newer and
functional equipment. |
Before preparing your proposal, conduct a department survey to see how your department
stacks up compared to the above priorities. Compare your department’s weaknesses to
these priorities. Call volume based on community size will be considered in evaluating
these priorities for your department.
2. Demonstrate financial need
Establish a need and document how your existing resources are unable to meet it. Submit
budget information that clearly demonstrates that you will be unable to support this
essential activity.
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Demonstrate that your solution is provided at the lowest possible amount of funding. |
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Express your willingness to share with other communities, if possible. |
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Collaborate with other organizations. |
Document why can’t your department purchase the equipment it requires without federal assistance and describe attempts you have make to secure funding from other sources. Describe your community’s financial situation. Has its tax base eroded? Can your department not keep up with continued community growth? Is your municipality hindered by tax limitation legislation?
Also, don’t forget your matching funds obligation. Specifically include in your proposal where and how your matching funds are being allocated. Under the program communities with populations under 50,000 must come up with a 10% match; communities over 50,000 are obligated to a 30% match.
3. Develop a clear proposal with a good cost/benefit analysis
Make sure your proposal presents a clear picture of what you’re attempting to achieve and relate the cost of your proposed project to the benefit it will achieve. In developing your cost/benefit analysis, consider the following issues:
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Analyze your community and consider such items as population, population density, age and type of construction, number of multi-story buildings, number of commercial structures. |
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Conduct a risk assessment by evaluating your community’s susceptibility to such
incidents as high-rise fires or commercial fires. |
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Evaluate your department’s capabilities to respond to such emergencies as high rise fires or hazmat incidents. |
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Identify your department’s needs and how the cost of those needs will be offset by the specific benefits you could achieve. |
Stay on the point and be specific
In preparing your narrative, make sure your proposal:
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Uses relevant information. |
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Addresses issues concisely. |
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Include itemized lists as needed. |
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Compare the weaknesses identified in your needs assessment to grant
funding priorities. |
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Includes identifiable goals and objectives. |
FEMA’s timeline
FEMA’s tentative schedule calls for application reviews to begin in late April. Awards
will be granted starting in late May.
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| Simplifying the process…How to write a successful grant |
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Follow FEMA’s rules; don’t stray from what the application requires. Trying to
bend the rules or failing to focus specifically on the information being asked will be a
sure-fire way to win a low score or have your proposal rejected. |
2. |
Do your homework. Put a lot of time into preparing your application. Gather all the
necessary information you will need and make sure you get other people in your
department involved. |
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Dollars & sense. Develop an accurate, itemized budget for your project. Make sure
that all line items on your budget are accurately identified. For equipment purchases,
use the price you have been quoted, plus 10% for some flexibility, but don’t go
overboard. |
4. |
Get the match! Remember that you must have a 10 or 30% match to win a grant.
Document specifically how and where that money will come from. “The 10%
matching funding was allocated on 2/1/03 by the XYZ Municipal Board and will be
available on 3/1/03” carries more weight than “We hope to run a bake sale.” |
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Readin’ & writin.’ Each grant reviewer will go through more than 400 applications.
So, make sure your narrative is clear, concise and can be easily understood by anyone
who read it. You might have genuine needs, but if those needs can be accurately
described in writing you won’t get funded. |
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Understand the reviewers. They’re trained professionals. Don’t try to bluff them. |
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Meet the “intent.” You might have the best of intentions, but make sure your request
coincides with the intent of the program. If it doesn’t, you won’t get funded. |
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Make sure it’s complete. Any part of the form that is incomplete can be cause for
rejection. |
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| Scott Equipment You Should Consider |
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In the event your department is seeking Fire Grant funding for Scott equipment, your application should itemize the equipment in “Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Program” section(s) listed below:
Personal protective equipment acquisition
Equipment that can be purchased under this category includes:
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| Equipment |
Application |
| Air-Pak SCBA |
General firefighting;
hazmat response |
| Spare SCBA cylinders |
General firefighting;
hazmat response |
| E-Z Flo Plus Air-Pak |
CBRN incidents |
| Ska-Pak |
Ladder/aerial trucks |
| Pak-Alert |
SCBA integrated PASS |
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Upgrades to existing SCBA should also be considered under this category. This means requesting funding to support the addition of such systems as integrated PASS devices; EBSS systems; or extending duration airlines to SCBA you already have in service.
Firefighting Equipment Acquisition
Equipment that can be purchased under this category includes:
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| Equipment |
Application |
Eagle Imager thermal
imaging cameras |
General firefighting; search & rescue operations; hazmat response |
Voice amplifier; Envoy, Talk-Around,
E-Z Radiocom or Hazmat Radiocom
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General firefighting;
hazmat response |
SCBA-integrated communications
Systems |
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| SEMS accountability system |
General firefighting;
hazmat response |
Scott breathing Air System
compressors hazmat response |
General firefighting;
hazmat response |
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Upgrades to a thermal imaging camera, such as the addition of a transmitter to an existing
camera, could also be considered in this category.
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Scott Health & Safety is a unit of Tyco Fire & Security, a major segment of Tyco International Ltd. Tyco Fire & Security designs, manufactures, installs and services electronic security systems, fire protection, detection and suppression systems, sprinklers and fire extinguishes. With $11 billion in annual sales and more than 90,000 employees, Tyco Fire & Security includes more than 60 brands, which are represented in more than 100 countries. Its products are used to safeguard firefighters, prevent fires, deter thieves and protect people and property.
Tyco International Ltd. is a global, diversified company that provides vital products and services to customers in five business segments: Fire & Security, Electronics, Healthcare, Engineered Products & Services, and Plastics & Adhesives. With 2003 revenue of $37 billion, Tyco employs 260,000 people worldwide. More information on Tyco can be found at www.tyco.com.
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