大卫•刘易斯
Across the U.S., fire departments are struggling to meet the rising costs of equipment and apparatus replacement. Many times, decisions are made between paying the monthly bills or acquiring much-needed equipment or personal protective equipment (PPE). The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants program (AFG) provides opportunities to acquire federal assistance in addressing these challenges and aid the department in meeting its mission needs.
Public safety, including fire and law enforcement protection, is traditionally the responsibility of the state and local governments. Therefore, funding for these services is provided primarily through these local governments. During the 1990s, it was recognized that fire and emergency response was a nationwide concern, and many local governments were challenged with providing adequate funding to meet emergency response needs. As a part of the Fiscal Year 2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398), the AFG program, also known as the FIRE Act grant program, was established.
AFG is an important component of the larger, coordinated effort by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA to strengthen the nation’s overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related hazards. Now in its 18Thyear, the AFG program has provided more than $7 billion in grants to fire and EMS organizations (career, volunteer, and combination departments) to obtain much-needed emergency response equipment, PPE, firefighting and emergency vehicles, and training. The FY 2018 AFG program will award another $315 million to first responder organizations that need support to improve their capability to respond to fires and emergencies of all types.
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Grants: It’s All About the Justification
FEMA assistance to local fire departments consists of three grant programs that fall under the AFG heading.
AFG: These grants are designed 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 EMS organizations, and state fire training academies for critically needed resources that equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, enhance operational efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience.
消防与安全补助金（FP＆S）：这些赠款通过支持防火计划以及消防员的健康与安全研究与开发来增强公众和消防员在火灾和火灾有关的危害方面的安全。
Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergence Response (SAFER) Grants: These grants provide funding to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist with hiring of career firefighters and recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters to meet industry minimum staffing standards to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.
Departments should consider all three grant programs when examining their capability to meet their mission requirements. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) published its latest “Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service” study in 2016. The survey concluded that many departments lacked basic training and equipment to safely and efficiently perform their mission. The survey further assessed that those departments who had acquired funding through AFG, FP&S, and SAFER had significantly improved their operational capabilities.
部门应进行自己的需求评估，以确定他们满足其任务要求的能力。根据任务要求评估运营能力将有助于确定交付能力的差距。一旦确定了差距，该部门应开发出缩小这些差距以提高运营能力的方法。然后，必须分配资金以实施这些差距结束方法。这就是许多部门落后的地方，因为预算中根本无法提供资金。FEMA赠款计划为部门提供必要的财政支持，以减轻运营预算的压力。
Yet, as I travel across the U.S., I find many departments don’t know about AFG or how to apply. At the same time, these are the departments which can most benefit from financial support to purchase basic equipment, PPE, and apparatus.
我把这一切都成一个角度,firefighters should be able to easily understand. When we first took our Firefighter I training, we were introduced to the fire triangle (or fire tetrahedron) to explain the principles of fire behavior. To sustain fire, all three legs of the triangle—heat, fuel, and oxygen—must be present. Remove any leg, and the fire cannot sustain itself and it goes out.
同样，我们可以画一个三角形来代表我们的使命。为了满足我们的任务需求，我们必须拥有适当的设备，适当的人员配备以及降低社区风险（防火和生命安全）计划。没有我们任务三角的任何这些腿，我们无法满足社区的需求。
这些腿很容易等同于FEMA赠款计划之一。AFG为PPE，设备和设备提供资金。通过加强志愿者的招聘和保留或增加付费人员，更安全的资金可以提高人员配备水平。FP＆S为降低社区风险（生命安全）措施提供资金。
What has your department done to complete an internal needs assessment? Have you identified your service delivery gaps? Using this assessment, you should then consider taking advantage of these three FEMA grant programs to help address your needs and make your community a safer place to live and work.
I frequently hear the complaint that only larger departments get the funding or that the process is too hard for volunteer departments. Both of these assertions are myths and far from the truth. The authorization for the grant programs ensures that funding is available for all departments, career or volunteer, large or small. AFG funding is divided so that all-career departments, all-volunteer departments, and combination departments each get 25 percent of the allocated funding. The remaining 25 percent is split several ways, with some set aside for fire departments regardless of staffing type and some allocated to the FP&S program, non-affiliated EMS organizations, and state fire training academies. This system puts volunteer departments on equal footing with career departments. What you are requesting (how it aligns to the program priorities), financial need, and how you explain your need (the narrative portion of the application) are the biggest factors in determining who gets funding.
The key to a successful grant application is to understand the process. FEMA and state organizations offer in-person workshops and online webinars prior to each application period. It is important to participate in one of these to understand the application requirements and how to submit an application. Additionally, it is important that you thoroughly read the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) document for the grant program that you are applying for. The NOFO is your rule book. It explains what items are eligible for grant funding, how to apply, and how your application will be evaluated for grant consideration. You should also take the time to gather all of the information necessary to complete the application. I can’t tell you how many applications I have reviewed that were submitted incomplete, with data missing and clearly not reviewed prior to submission.
开发叙述部分可能是应用程序中最关键的部分。叙述包括四个部分：项目描述，财务需求，成本收益和效果声明。您的叙述将由其他消防员小组审查，他们将寻找您的风险以及您需要解决的问题（项目说明），为什么需要赠款资金（财务需求），为什么您的建议解决方案为何是解决该问题的最具成本效益的方法（成本收益）以及实施该解决方案将如何降低您部门和社区的风险（效果声明）。这四个叙述中的每一个都将由同行小组评分，并对赠款的决定产生重大影响。
Grant funding provides all departments, large or small, with funding opportunities to acquire critical equipment, ensure adequate staffing, and to help make their communities safe. To be successful requires planning and the willingness to make an assessment of your operational capabilities. The time to address these challenges is now. Prepare your department to be ready for the next application cycle for the AFG programs. The future of your department is in your hands.
David Lewis是马里兰州国家志愿者消防委员会主任，是NVFC国土安全委员会的副主席。他是Odenton（MD）志愿消防公司的活跃成员，此前曾担任助理局长兼总裁。David is a past president of the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association and the Maryland State Firemen’s Association, a director with the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association and the National Volunteer Fire Council, and an instructor for the National Fire Academy, the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, and University of Maryland University College.
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