AFG - 2014 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Title

US Department of Homeland Security

Funding Opportunity Announcement

FY 2014 ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS (AFG)

Overview Information

Issued By
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Grant
Programs Directorate (GPD)

Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number
97.044

CFDA Title
Assistance to Firefighters Grants

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Title
Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG)

Authorizing Authority for Program
Section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended (15
USC § 2229)

Appropriation Authority for Program
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-76)

Opportunity ID Number
DHS-14-GPD-044-000-99

Key Dates and Time
Application Start Date:
Application Submission Deadline Date:
Anticipated Program Office Review Dates:
Anticipated Funding Selection Date:
Anticipated Award Date:

11/3/2014 at 8:00 AM EST
12/5/2014 at 5:00 PM EST
01/12/2015 – 01/16/2015
03/2/2015
03/9/2015

Other Key Dates
Projected Award Start Date(s):
Projected Award End Date(s):

03/9/2015
09/21/2015

Intergovernmental Review
Is an intergovernmental review required?

Yes

No

Pursuant to Executive Order 12372, an intergovernmental review may be required by applicable State
law or regulation. Applicants must contact their State’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to find out about
and comply with the State’s process under Executive Order 12372. Name and addresses of the SPOCs
are maintained at the Office of Management and Budget’s home page at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_spoc to ensure currency.
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Application Submission Extension
Is an extension to the application submission deadline permitted?

2

Yes

No

FOA Executive Summary
Funding Category
Select the applicable program type:
New
Continuation One-time

Date of origin for Program
10/30/2000

Funding Opportunity Category
Select the applicable opportunity category:
Discretionary Mandatory
Competitive

Non-competitive

Application Process
DHS makes all funding opportunities available through the common electronic
“storefront” Grants.gov, accessible on the Internet at http://www.grants.gov. For details
on how to apply through Grants.gov, please read the full FOA, Section IX. How to
Apply. If you experience difficulties accessing information or have any questions, please
call the Grants.gov Contact Center at (800) 518-4726.

AFG Application Home Page
Links to the AFG Application portal are available via Grants.gov, the US Fire
Administration, or the AFG Website.
For additional details, please see the full FOA, Section IX. How to Apply.

Eligible Applicants
The following entities are eligible to apply directly to FEMA under this solicitation:
Fire Department
Nonaffiliated EMS organization
State Fire Training Academy
For additional details, please see the full FOA, Section III. Eligibility Information.

Type of Funding Instrument
Select the applicable funding instrument:
Grant
Cooperative Agreement

Cost Share or Match
Select the applicable requirement:
Cost Share
Cost Match
Voluntary
NOTE: Grantee cost sharing, unless modified by waiver, shall be either 5 percent, 10
percent, or 15 percent and shall be based on the population of the jurisdiction(s) served
by the applicant or region. For additional details, see Appendix C, I. Cost Sharing and
Maintenance of Effort Requirements, A. Cost Sharing.

Maintenance of Effort
Is there a Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirement?
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Yes

No

An applicant seeking an AFG Grant shall agree to maintain during the term of the grant
the applicant’s aggregate expenditures relating to activities allowable under this FOA at
not less than 80 percent of the average amount of such expenditures in the two fiscal
years preceding the fiscal year in which the grant award is received. For additional
details, see Appendix C, I. Cost Sharing and Maintenance of Effort Requirements, B.
Maintenance of Effort.

Management and Administration
No more than three percent of the federal share of AFG Funds awarded may be retained
by the grantee for management and administration (M&A) purposes associated with the
AFG Award. For additional details, please see Appendix C, II. Other Allowable Costs, A.
Administrative Costs, Management and Administration.
If requesting management and administrative expenses, you must itemize the actual

expenses under the “Other” category in the budget and explain the purpose for the

administrative costs in your Project Narrative.

NOTE: Management and administrative expenses should be based only on actual

expenses or known contractual costs; requests that are simple percentages of the award,

without supporting justification, will not be considered for reimbursement.

Indirect Costs
Indirect costs are allowable only if the applicant has an approved indirect cost rate with
the cognizant federal agency. A copy of the approved rate (a fully executed agreement
negotiated with the applicant’s cognizant federal agency) is required at the time of
application. Indirect costs will be evaluated as part of the application for federal funds to
determine if allowable and reasonable.
For additional details, see Appendix C, II. Other Allowable Costs, A. Administrative
Costs and B. Indirect Costs.

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Full Funding Opportunity Announcement
I.

Funding Opportunity Description
Program Overview and Priorities
AFG is a suite of competitive discretionary grants comprised of three interconnected
component programs—Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition, and Joint/Regional—
for awarding direct financial assistance to fire departments, nonaffiliated EMS
organizations, and State Fire Training Academies (SFTAs).
(NOTE: For the purpose of this document and the AFG Application, the terms
“Regional” and “Joint/Regional” are interchangeable.)

Criteria Development Panel (CDP)
FEMA annually convenes the Criteria Development Panel (CDP), a panel of Subject
Matter Experts (SMEs) representing major fire service organizations, responsible for
recommending fair and consistent application criteria and program priorities to FEMA.
For additional details, see Appendix B, I. Criteria Development Panel (CDP).

Community Classification
FEMA has determined that due to the inherent differences among urban, suburban, and
rural communities, priority rankings of High , Medium , or Low will be assigned
to eligible AFG Program activities within each community, based on community type.
For additional details, please see Appendix B, VIII. Community Classifications.

Program Purpose and Objective
• The purpose of the AFG Program is to enhance, through direct financial
assistance, the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel and to
provide a continuum of support for emergency responders regarding fire, medical,
and all-hazard events.
• The objective of the FY 2014 AFG Program is to award grants directly to fire
departments, nonaffiliated EMS organizations, and SFTAs for critically needed
resources to protect the public, train emergency personnel, foster interoperability,
and support community resilience.
• Eligible activities requested that have an immediate impact on the safety of
emergency responders, other personnel, or the public may receive additional
consideration during the application review process. For additional details, see
Appendix B, II. AFG Programs and Eligible Activities.
• FY 2014 AFG Programs play an important role in the implementation of the
National Preparedness System (NPS) by supporting the building, sustainment, and
delivery of core capabilities essential to achieving the National Preparedness Goal
(NPG) of a secure and resilient Nation. Delivering core capabilities requires the
combined effort of the whole community, rather than the exclusive effort of any
single organization or level of government.
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• Examples of tangible outcomes from the FY 2014 AFG Programs’ allowable
costs include building, sustaining, and delivering the following core capabilities:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Public Information and Warning
Operational Coordination
Community Resilience
Long-Term Vulnerability Reduction
Environmental Response/Health and Safety
Infrastructure Systems
Mass Search and Rescue Operations

For additional details, please see “National Preparedness Goal, First Edition,
September 2011” at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/prepared/npg.pdf.

II.

Funding Information
Award Amounts, Important Dates, and Extensions
Available Funding for the FOA: $304,503,7641
Projected number of Awards:
Projected Award Start Date(s):
Projected Award End Date(s):

2,700

03/9/2015

09/21/2015

Period of Performance: 12 months from the date of award2
Applicants will be notified via email, through the AFG eGrants award management
system, of the offer of an award. Applicants must accept their grant awards no later than
30 days from the award date. The awardee shall notify FEMA, the awarding agency, of
its intent to accept and proceed with work under the grant or provide a written notice of
intent to decline. Funds will remain on hold (for a maximum of 90 days) until the grantee
accepts the award via the online AFG eGrants system. Declinations may be submitted via
the online AFG eGrants system or through official correspondence (e.g., written,
electronic signature, signed letter, or fax) to the Grant Programs Directorate, Federal
Emergency Management Agency, 800 K. Street NW, 9th Floor North Tower,
Washington, DC 20001, Fax 202-786-9938.

1

Note that this figure differs from the total amount appropriated under the Department of Homeland Security
Appropriations Act, 2014, Pub. L. No. 113-76. In the FY 2014 AFG FOA, percentages of “available grant funds”
refers to the total amount appropriated—$340,000,000—by Pub. L. No. 113-76 to meet the statutory requirements
of § 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended (15 USC § 2229).
2
AFG Grants are awarded on a rolling basis.

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NOTE: Failure to accept the grant award within the 90-day timeframe may result in a
loss of funds.
For additional details, please see Appendix A.

Period of Performance
The period of performance is 12 months from the date of award.
Is an extension to the period of performance permitted?
Yes
No
Grantees may submit a request for an extension of their grant award due to compelling
legal, policy, or operational challenges. See Appendix C, XI. Extensions to the Grant
Period of Performance.

III.

Eligibility Information
A. Eligibility Criteria
i. Eligible Applicants
• Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations (as defined by 15 USC
§ 2229(a)(7)) operating in any of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally
recognized Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or an Alaskan native
village, Alaska Regional Native Corporation, or the Alaska Village Initiatives,
and
• Any State Fire Training Academy operating in any of the 50 states plus the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the
US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico. A listing of eligible State Fire Training Academy organizations and
institutions can be found at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/pocs/.
For more details on Eligible Applicants, see Appendix B, III. Eligible/Ineligible
Applicants.
NOTES:
• No organization eligible to apply for and receive a grant shall be required to
meet any training requirement or attain any performance standard as a
prerequisite for that eligible organization to submit an application to any AFG
Program. For more information on entities that qualify as eligible applicants
and additional details, see Appendix B, III. Eligible/Ineligible Applicants.
• FEMA considers two or more separate fire departments or two or more
nonaffiliated EMS organizations sharing facilities as being one organization.
This determination is designed to avoid duplication of benefits. If two or more
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like organizations share facilities and each submits an application in the same
program area, FEMA may deem all of those program area applications
ineligible.
• Fire-based EMS organizations are not eligible to apply as a nonaffiliated EMS
organization. Fire-based EMS training and equipment must be applied for as a
fire department under the AFG Component Program Operations and Safety.

IV.

Funding Restrictions
Restrictions on Use of Award Funds
DHS Grant funds shall only be used for the purpose set forth in the grant and must be
consistent with the statutory authority for the award. Grant funds shall not be used for
matching funds for other federal grants/cooperative agreements, lobbying, or intervention
in federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings. In addition, federal funds shall not be
used to sue the Federal Government or any other government entity.
Applicants may submit more than one application but no more than one application for
each AFG component program (e.g., Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition, or
Regional). If more than one application within the same program advances to award, the
applicant cannot receive total award funding that exceeds the funding allocation cap. For
additional details, see Appendix A, III. Available Grant Funds by Population Served. Any
applicant that submits more than one application for the same component program, or
requests the same activities in multiple component programs (e.g., Regional and
Operations & Safety) may have all applications for any duplicated request(s) deemed
ineligible.
Applicants for Regional projects will be subject to the limitations based on the total
population the Regional project will serve, and that award will not be included in the host
organization’s funding limitations.
For additional details, see Appendix A, II. Allocations and Restrictions of Available
Grant Funds by Organization Type.
NOTE:
Pre-award costs are those unavoidable acquisition costs incurred after an application’s
submission but prior to an offer of award. Pre-award costs may be eligible for
reimbursement if:
• The applicant has provided written notification to FEMA prior to an offer of
award and concurrent with their acquisition(s); and
• The AFG Program Office determines that the acquisition expenses were justified,
unavoidable, and consistent with the Requested Details of the grant’s scope of
work.
Please see Appendix C, II. Other Allowable Costs, E. Pre-Award Costs.
For additional details, see Appendix B, IV. Restrictions on Use of Award Funds.

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Overview of AFG component programs (Vehicle Acquisition, Operations &
Safety, and Regional)
• Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations may apply for each, any, or
all of the five Operations and Safety component activities (i.e., Training,
Equipment, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Wellness and Fitness, and
Modification to Facilities), and Vehicles, and to act as a Regional host,
• Regional Applicants may only apply for Training, Equipment, PPE and Vehicles.
• SFTA Applicants may only apply for Equipment, PPE, and Vehicles.
NOTE: While fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations share some
common program priorities, there are restricted activities for nonaffiliated EMS
organizations. Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are not eligible to request any acquisition
activity that is specific or unique to structural/proximity or wildland firefighting.

Overview of Activities
Operations and Safety Activities
• Training: Requested activities should meet or exceed any national, state, and/or
DHS- recognized consensus standards (e.g., NFPA, ANSI, and/or OSHA). If a
training request does not meet DHS-recognized consensus standards, applicants
must submit an explanation of the reasons their proposed training will serve the
needs of the applicant better than training that meets or exceeds those standards to
FEMA in compliance with 15 USC § 2229(o). FEMA has determined the most
benefit is derived from hands-on, instructor-led training that leads to a national or
state certification.
• Equipment: Requested equipment should enhance the safety and/or effectiveness
of firefighting, rescue, and/or the enhancement of emergency medical services
provided by fire based EMS and/or nonaffiliated EMS organizations. Equipment
requested shall meet or exceed any voluntary national, state, and/or DHSrecognized consensus standards. All equipment requested and awarded to the
applicant organization shall be for the sole and proprietary use of the applicant
organization. Awarded equipment may be shared to facilitate all-hazards response
but shall not be relocated, distributed, gifted, or loaned long term to any other
organization by the grantee.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): PPE is defined as those compliant items
“worn” for protection by firefighter/nonaffiliated EMS personnel. Requested PPE
shall meet or exceed any voluntary national, state, and/or DHS-recognized
consensus standards. PPE does not include uniforms or station-wear.
• Wellness and Fitness: Requested activities should assist First Responders to
ensure their mental, physical, and emotional capabilities are resilient enough to
withstand the demands of emergency services response.
• Modifications to Facilities: Requested activities may only retrofit existing
structures built prior to 01/01/2003 that do not already have those AFG eligible
safety features (being requested) in place. Structures built prior to 01/01/2003,
which have been expanded/added on to, may be eligible for an award to retrofit
8

those areas built prior to 01/01/2003. Projects that include prior and post
01/01/2003 construction may be awarded on a prorated basis. Site preparation to
accommodate or modify any facility that is a permanent or semi-permanent
improvement, including but not limited to: landscaping, cutting or grading an
access road, trenching, paving, exterior stairs or sidewalks, or the installation of
utilities, is an ineligible and non-reimbursable activity.
For more details on Operations and Safety, see Appendix B, X. AFG Program Priorities
and Eligible/Ineligible Activities, A. Operations and Safety.
Regional Program
A Regional Application is an opportunity only for a fire department or a nonaffiliated
EMS organization to act as a “host” applicant and apply for large-scale projects on behalf
of itself and any number of other participating local AFG-eligible organizations. Eligible
Regional program activities are Vehicle Acquisition and Operations and Safety (but only
Training, Equipment, and PPE). Regional program activities should achieve cost
effectiveness, support regional efficiency and resilience, and benefit more than one local
jurisdiction (county, parish, town, township, city, or village) directly from the activities
implemented with the grant funds.
Host organizations should provide specific details in their application narrative, fully
explaining the distribution of any grant-funded acquisitions or grant-funded contracted
services between the Host and the partner organizations.
Regional host applicants and participating partner agencies must execute a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) or equivalent document, signed by all parties participating in
the award, prior to submitting an application under the Regional program activities. The
agreement should specify the individual and mutual responsibilities of the participating
partners, the participant’s level of involvement in the project(s), and the proposed
distribution of all grant funded assets. Successful Regional Applicants shall provide a
copy of the signed MOU at the time of award. Any entity named in the application as
benefiting from the award shall be a party the MOU or equivalent document.
State Fire Training Academies are not eligible to apply under the Regional program.
For more details on Regional programs, see the full FOA, IV. Funding Restrictions,
Overview of AFG component programs (Vehicle Acquisition, Operations & Safety, and
Regional Component Programs), Overview of Activities, Regional Program.
Vehicle Acquisition
• Only new custom, stock, or demonstration vehicles are eligible for reimbursement
under the AFG Vehicle Acquisition program.
• Refurbished and used (previously owned) vehicles are no longer eligible for
acquisition and will not be reimbursed by FEMA.
• Fire departments, nonaffiliated EMS organizations, and State Fire Training
Academies are eligible for all AFG Vehicle Acquisition activities. Organizations

9

applying for a vehicle under the Regional program should choose the Vehicle
Acquisition activity in their application.
For more details on Vehicles, see Appendix B, X. AFG Program Priorities and
Eligible/Ineligible Activities, H. Vehicle Acquisition.

Maintenance and Sustainment for All AFG Programs
The use of FEMA preparedness grant funds for the costs of repairs or replacement, as
well as maintenance contracts, warranties, and user fees may be allowable.
The intent of eligible Maintenance and Sustainment activities is to provide direct support
to the critical capabilities developed using FEMA and other DHS Grants and support
activities. Routine upkeep and the supplies, expendables, or one-time use items that
support routine upkeep (e.g., gasoline, tire replacement, routine oil changes, monthly
inspections, and/or grounds and facility maintenance) are the responsibility of the grantee
and may not be funded with preparedness grant funding.
When purchasing a maintenance agreement, service contract, or extended warranty for
systems or equipment, the period of coverage provided under such a plan may not extend
beyond the period of performance of the grant with which the agreement, warranty, or
contract is purchased.
However, only if the maintenance contract or extended warranty is purchased incidental
to the original purchase of the system or equipment may grantees procure maintenance or
warranty coverage which exceeds the period of performance, as explained in FEMA
Policy 205-402-125-1 (document available at http://www.fema.gov/media-librarydata/20130726-1915-25045-9444/gpd_maintenance_policy.pdf).
The duration of an extended warranty purchased incidental to the original purchase of the
equipment may exceed the period performance as long as the coverage purchased is
consistent with that which is typically provided for, or available through, these types of
agreements, warranties, or contracts. When purchasing a stand-alone warranty, or
extending an existing maintenance contract on an already-owned piece of equipment or
system, coverage purchased may not exceed the period of performance of the award used
to purchase the maintenance agreement or warranty. As with warranties and maintenance
agreements, this policy extends to licenses and user fees as well.
Please remember that even if purchased incidental to the original purchase of the
equipment, the duration of an extended maintenance agreement or warranty must also be
reasonable for the type of equipment or system also being purchased. For example, if a
vendor offers a 10-year extended warranty incidental to the purchase of a piece of
equipment, but the useful life of that equipment being purchased is five years, the
purchase of a 10-year extended warranty would not be a reasonable cost and may not be
charged to the grant.

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V.

Application Review Information and Selection Process
Application Review Information
FEMA will rank all complete and submitted applications based on how well they match
the program priorities for the type of jurisdiction(s) served. Answers to the application’s
activity-specific questions provide information used to determine each application’s
ranking relative to the stated program priorities.
FY 2014 AFG Applications will be scored competitively by three members of the Peer
Panel Review process. Applications will also be evaluated through a series of internal
FEMA review processes for completeness, adherence to programmatic guidelines,
technical feasibility, and anticipated effectiveness of the proposed project(s).
Funding priorities and criteria for evaluating AFG Applications are established by FEMA
based on the recommendations from the Criteria Development Panel. For more
information, see Appendix B, I. Criteria Development Panel (CDP).

A.

Application Selection Process
i.

Prescoring Process
The application undergoes an electronic prescoring process based on
established program priorities. Application Narratives are not reviewed
during prescore. Make sure your Request Details and Budget information
comply with program guidance and statutory funding limitations.
If the application is determined to be in the competitive range after
prescoring, it will proceed to the peer review process. Each eligible
activity/project in an application is scored on its own merits.
Final application scores will be comprised of 50 percent from the
electronic prescore and 50 percent from the Peer Panel Review process
calculated by the average score of three Peer Panel Reviewers.

ii.

Peer Review Process
Peer Review Panelists will consider all expenses budgeted, including the
individual costs of the items requested, as well as sustainment costs such
as warranties or maintenance costs, administrative costs, and/or indirect
costs. Panelists may object to costs that are requested but not fully
explained in the application.
Panelists will provide objective comments and qualitative judgment on the
merits of each AFG component activity requested and score the project(s)
based on the following criteria:
• Proposed project description and budget
• Financial need
• Cost benefits

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• Extent to which the grant would enhance daily operations
• How the grant will positively impact the regional ability to protect
life and property. If a Regional host is proposing a Regional
project, a list of all the participating eligible organizations is
required
• The presence of critical infrastructure systems or key resources
that if attacked, would result in catastrophic loss of life or
catastrophic economic loss. Critical infrastructure includes:
o Public water
o Power systems
o Major business centers
o Chemical facilities
o Nuclear power plants
o Major rail and highway bridges
o Petroleum and/or natural gas transmission pipelines
o Storage facilities (such as chemicals)
o Telecommunications facilities
o Facilities that support large public gatherings, such as
sporting events or concerts
iii.

Fundable Range Review Process
Each activity category (within an application) that scored in the
competitive range will individually advance for Peer Panel Review. If the
combined electronic prescore and the Peer Panel Review score is
sufficient, the activity(ies) will be considered to be in the fundable range.
Fundable range activities will then undergo a Post Panel Review (PPR) by
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). In the PPR, the SME will assess the
technical feasibility of the project.
After the technical review, the Program Office will conduct an additional
and final review to assess the request with respect to costs, quantities,
feasibility, and eligibility prior to recommending the project for award.
Prior AFG Grant(s) management performance will also be considered in
the recommendation for award.
The highest funding priority and consideration will be given to those
projects that can be completed within the one-year period of performance
and that are not dependent on other applications requesting supporting
equipment or projects.

iv.

State Strategy and Communications Technical Review
Each state will provide an SME to the AFG Program Office to conduct a
technical review of Peer Panel Reviewed applications requesting

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communications systems equipment or Chemical, Biological,
Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) equipment.
This state review will focus on requests for communications systems
equipment and related training that should conform to the state’s
Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan (SCIP).
Applicants are encouraged to coordinate requested communications
projects with their Statewide Interoperability Coordinator (SWIC),
Statewide Interoperability Governing Body (SIGB), or equivalents to
ensure their proposed projects support the SCIP for their State.

VI.

Post-Selection and Pre-Award Guidelines
A. Notice of Award
Successful applicants for all DHS Grants are required to comply with DHS Standard
Administrative Terms and Conditions available within Section 6.1.1 of the CFO
Authority for Financial Assistance and Oversight. For more information, please contact
the AFG Help Desk at (866) 274-0960 or by email at firegrants@fema.gov.
For more information, please see Appendix C, VIII. CFO Authority for Financial
Assistance and Oversight.
Upon approval of an application, the award will be made in the form of a grant. The date
the approval of award is entered in the system is the “Award Date.” Notification of award
approval is made through the eGrants system through an automatic email to the grantee
point of contact listed in the initial application.
Once an award has been approved and recorded in the system, a notice is sent to the grant
official authorized by the grantee in the application. The authorized grant official should
follow the directions in the notification to accept the award documents. The authorized
grant official should carefully read the award package for instructions on administering
the grant and to learn more about the terms and conditions associated with
responsibilities under federal awards.
AFG will evaluate and act on applications within 90 days following close of the
application period.
i.

Administrative and Federal Financial Requirements
A complete list of Federal Financial Requirements is available at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms. All successful applicants
for all DHS Grant and cooperative agreements are required to comply with
DHS Standard Administrative Terms and Conditions, which are

13

enumerated in the DHS Chief Financial Officer Financial Management
Policy Manual and are available online at:
http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Proposed%20FY%2014
%20Standard%20TC%202013-12-04.pdf
NOTE: Future awards and fund drawdowns may be withheld if these
reports are delinquent.
ii.

Federal Financial Reports (SF-425)
Recipients of AFG Grants awarded on or after October 1, 2009, are
required to submit semi-annual Federal Financial Reports (FFR) (SF-425).
The FFR is to be submitted using the online eGrants system based on the
calendar year beginning with the period after the award is made. Grant
recipients are required to submit an FFR throughout the entire period of
performance of the grant. Reports are due
• June 30 (for period January 1 – June 30) and no later than July 30
• December 31 (for period July 1 – December 31) and no later than
January 31
• Within 90 days after the end of the Period of Performance
For line-by-line instructions for completing the SF425, please visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/grants/standard_forms/
ffr_instructions.pdf.

iii.

Grant Closeout Process
Within 90 days after the end of the period of performance, grantees must
submit a final FFR and final progress report detailing all accomplishments
throughout the period of performance. After these reports have been
reviewed and approved by FEMA, a closeout notice will be completed to
close out the grant. The notice will indicate the period of performance as
closed, list any remaining funds that will be deobligated, and address the
requirement of maintaining the grant records for three years from the date
of the final FFR. The grantee is responsible for returning any funds that
have been drawn down but remain as unliquidated on grantee financial
records. Please also see Appendix C – Award Administration Information,
XI. Payments/Drawdown/Rebates, C. Payment Requests During Closeout.
Return of Funds to FEMA
Information on how to return funds to FEMA is available at
http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/31261?id=7080.

iv.

Program Performance Reporting Requirements
AFG (Programmatic) Performance Report
The awardees will be responsible for providing updated project(s)
information on a semi-annual basis. The grantee is responsible for
completing and submitting a programmatic Performance Report using the

14

eGrants system. The programmatic Performance Report is due six months
after the grant’s award date and every six months after if applicable.
v.

Monitoring
Grant recipients will be monitored periodically by FEMA staff, both
programmatically and financially, to ensure that the project goals,
objectives, performance requirements, timelines, milestone completion,
budgets, and other related program criteria are being met.
Monitoring may be accomplished through either a desk-based review or
on-site monitoring visits, or both. Monitoring will involve the review and
analysis of the financial, programmatic, performance, compliance, and
administrative processes and policies, activities, and other attributes of
each federal assistance award and will identify areas where technical
assistance, corrective actions, and other support may be needed.
Grantees have the opportunity to participate in a Post Award Orientation
(PAO) to have questions answered, receive technical assistance and
review the terms and conditions of the grant. The Post Award Orientation
is optional.

vi.

Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act
This act refers to reporting requirements under the Federal Funding
Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) (Public Law 109282), as amended by Section 6202(a) of the Government Funding
Transparency Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-252). As defined by the OMB,
all new federal awards of $25,000 or more as of October 1, 2010, are
subject to FFATA reporting requirements. Federal awards include not only
prime awards for grantees, cooperators, and contractors but also awards to
sub-recipients. More information can be found at
http://www.usaspending.gov/news.

vii.

Financial and Compliance Audit Report
For audits of fiscal years beginning on or after December 26, 2014, recipients
that expend $750,000 or more from all federal funding sources during their
fiscal year are required to submit an organization-wide financial and
compliance audit report. The audit must be performed in accordance with the
requirements of GAO’s Government Auditing Standards, located at
http://www.gao.gov/govaud/ybk01.htm, and the requirements of Subpart F of
2 CFR Part 200, located at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?SID=55e12eead565605b4d529d82d276105c&node=2:1.1.2.1.1.6&rgn=d
iv6.
For audits of fiscal years beginning prior to December 26, 2014, recipients
that expend $500,000 or more from all federal funding sources during their
fiscal year are required to submit an organization-wide financial and
compliance audit report. The audit must be performed in accordance with

15

GAO’s Government Auditing Standards, located at
http://www.gao.gov/govaud/ybk01.htm, and OMB Circular A-133, Audits of
States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations, located at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a133_compliance_supplement_20
12. Audit reports are currently due to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse no
later than nine months after the end of the recipient’s fiscal year.

viii.

Required Performance and Financial Reports for Grant Closeout
Final performance report Narrative (within the Closeout module in
eGrants) is due 90 days after the end of the period of performance or as
amended. The Final SF-425 is due 90 days after the end of the grant
period.

VII. DHS/FEMA/GPD/AFG Contact Information
A. Contact and Resource Information
Resources are available to:
• Guide applicants in completing AFG Grant Applications; and
• Assist grantees with the programmatic or financial administration of an award.
i.

AFG Help Desk
The AFG Help Desk provides technical assistance to applicants for the online
completion and submission of applications into the eGrants system, answers
questions concerning applicant eligibility and grantee responsibilities, and
offers assistance in the programmatic administration of awards. The AFG
Help Desk can be contacted at (866) 274-0960 or by email at
firegrants@fema.gov. Normal hours of operation are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday. All times listed are Eastern Time.

ii.

FEMA Regional Fire Program Specialists
Each FEMA region has specialists who can assist applicants with application
information, award administration, and technical assistance. For information
on your Regional Specialist, visit http://www.fema.gov/fireGrants-contactinformation.

iii.

Grant Programs Directorate (GPD)
FEMA will provide pre- and post-award administration and technical
assistance for the grant programs included in this solicitation. Additional
guidance and information can be obtained by contacting the FEMA Call
Center at (866) 927-5646 or via email at ASK-GMD@dhs.gov.

iv.

eGrants System Information
For technical assistance with the eGrants system or AFG Application or
Award questions, please contact the AFG Help Desk. The Help Desk can also
be contacted at (866) 274-0960.

16

VIII. Other Critical Information
Note on Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards
AFG Grantees are required to follow all applicable federal regulations, including
regulations governing administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit
requirements for federal awards which are in place on the date in which a grant is
awarded by FEMA to the grantee.
On December 26, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) promulgated the
Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for
Federal Awards that establish a new, uniform set of mandatory requirements for federal
awards to non-federal entities. OMB codified this final guidance, (also commonly
referred to as the “Super Circular” or “Omni Circular”) on December 26, 2013 at 2 CFR
Part 200. This final guidance will supersede existing federal regulations governing
FEMA Grants for future awards, which include but are not limited to the Uniform
Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local
Governments at 44 CFR Part 13, the Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal
Governments at 2 CFR Part 225, and Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit
Organizations at OMB Circular A-133.
OMB has directed the Department of Homeland Security to adopt these new
requirements at 2 CFR Part 200 no later than December 26, 2014. Any grant awards
made after DHS’s adoption of the regulations at 2 CFR Part 200 will be required to
follow the new regulations. FEMA anticipates that all FY 2014 AFG Awards will be
made after the adoption of the new regulations. Except as otherwise noted, awards made
by FEMA prior to that date – including grants made in previous Fiscal Years – will
continue to apply the existing requirements which include, but are not limited to, 44 CFR
Part 13 and 2 CFR Part 225. FEMA will provide additional information to AFG
Stakeholders and Applicants upon adoption of the new regulations.

Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) Compliance
As a federal agency, FEMA is required to consider the effects of its actions on the
environment and/or historic properties to ensure that all activities and programs funded
by the agency, including grant-funded projects, comply with federal Environmental
Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) regulations, laws, and Executive Orders, as
applicable.
The Grants Program Directorate/EHP Branch will no longer be conducting EHP Reviews
on projects that have already been initiated or completed, and such projects that are
received for review will be recommended to not be funded, unless the project can be
modified to eliminate those parts/elements that have already been completed/initiated.
FEMA Policy 108.024.4 (linked below) provides procedural guidelines for completing
environmental reviews as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in

17

cases where Federal Emergency Management Agency funded projects require initiation
or action prior to the completion of the environmental review.
Please see FEMA Environmental Planning and Historical Preservation Policy 108.024.4,
dated December 18, 2013, at http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/13884117522346ddb79121951a68e9ba036d2569aa488/18Dec13-NoNEPAReview.pdf.
NOTE: It is FEMA Policy that actions initiated and/or completed without fulfilling the
specific documentation and procedural requirements of NEPA may not be considered for
funding.
For more details, see Appendix C, II. Other Allowable Costs, I. Environmental Planning
and Historic Preservation Compliance.

National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)
While NFIRS reporting is strongly encouraged, NFIRS reporting is not a requirement to
apply for or be awarded a grant within the AFG Program. However, any fire-based
organization(s) that receives an AFG Grant must commence reporting to NFIRS prior to
accepting their Award.
The grantee may be asked by FEMA to provide proof of compliance in reporting to
NFIRS. Any grantee that stops reporting to NFIRS during their grant’s Period of
Performance is subject to having their award(s) modified or withdrawn.

National Incident Management System (NIMS) Implementation
Prior to allocation of any federal preparedness awards, grantees must ensure and maintain
adoption and implementation of NIMS.
Emergency management and incident response activities require carefully managed
resources (personnel, teams, facilities, equipment, and/or supplies) to meet incident
needs. Utilization of the standardized resource management concepts such as typing,
inventorying, and cataloging promote a strong national mutual aid capability needed to
support delivery of core capabilities. Additional information on resource management
and national Tier I NIMS Resource Types can be found at
http://www.fema.gov/resource-management.
NOTE: FEMA’s current policy does not require AFG Applicants to be in compliance
with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) either to apply for AFG Funding
or to successfully receive an AFG Award. Any applicant that receives an FY 2014 AFG
Award must achieve the necessary NIMS compliance level prior to the end of the grant’s
period of performance.
• The AFG Application contains a question that asks whether the applicant
organization is currently in compliance with NIMS because compliance is
required of all FEMA Grantees before the end of their period of performance.
AFG Applicants will be considered NIMS compliant if the organization

18

submitting the application(s) is compliant with the NIMS requirements of their
Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).
• Applicants that need NIMS training may request funding for training through the
Training activity in the AFG Operations and Safety component program.
However, many online NIMS training courses are available free of charge through
the Emergency Management Institute.
• Additional detailed information on NIMS can be obtained from the FEMA NIMS
Resource Center Website.
• The list of NIMS objectives against which progress and achievement are assessed
and reported can be found at
http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/ImplementationGuidanceStakeholders.sht
m#item.
FEMA has developed the NIMS Guidelines for Credentialing of Personnel to describe
national credentialing standards and to provide written guidance regarding the use of
those standards. These guidelines describe credentialing and typing processes and
identify tools that Federal Emergency Response Officials (FERO) and emergency
managers at all levels of government may use routinely to facilitate multijurisdictional
coordinated responses.
The Guideline as well as the NIMS Guide 0002 can be found at the NIMS Resource
Center at the following URLs:
• The Guideline
http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/ResourceMngmnt.shtm#item3
• The NIMS Guide 0002 http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/ng_0002.pdf
• For more information on NIMS, visit http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims
• All questions can be directed via email to FEMA-NIMS@dhs.gov or via

telephone at (202) 646-3850

Although state, local, tribal, and private sector partners, including nongovernmental
organizations, are not required to credential their personnel in accordance with these
guidelines, FEMA strongly encourages them to do so in order to leverage the federal
investment in the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201 infrastructure and
to facilitate interoperability for personnel deployed outside their home jurisdiction.
Additional information can be found at
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/nims_alert_cred_guideline.pdf.

SAFECOM Guidance for Emergency Communications Grants Compliance
Grantees that are using AFG Funds to support emergency communications activities
should comply with the FY 2014 SAFECOM Guidance for Emergency Communications
Grants. For more details, see Appendix B, IX. P25 Compliance or
http://www.safecomprogram.gov/ecg/2014_safecom_guidance_final.pdf.

19

IX.

How to Apply
A. Application Instructions
The AFG eGrants application system is only accessible through the AFG Application

Portal at https://portal.fema.gov/.

There are several ways to get AFG Application information:

• AFG Website (http://www.fema.gov/firegrants)
• Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov)
• US Fire Administration (http://www.usfa.fema.gov)
Application tutorials and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) help explain the
current AFG Grant Programs, assist with the online grant application, and highlight
lessons learned and changes for FY 2014. For more details, please click here to visit
the AFG Website at http://www.fema.gov/firegrants.
NOTE: Do not use any other browsers than Internet Explorer (IE 6 or higher) when
entering your information. Do not have multiple browser tabs open when entering
your information, even if you are using Internet Explorer (IE 6 or higher). There are
several known problems entering application information using non IE browsers or
having multiple browsers open, including but not limited to:
• system failure to recognize correct information
• system failure to capture and retain correct information
• system functions like “cut and paste” being disabled
• system resources like help screens or drop down menus being unavailable
Prior to submission and up to the application deadline, the online application can be
saved, retrieved, or edited as required.
IMPORTANT
Once you have submitted your application, you cannot change it. There is no appeal
process for inaccurate or incomplete information retained by the system due to
improper or multiple browser usage by the applicant.
NO APPLICATION WILL BE RELEASED AFTER FINAL SUBMISSION
The primary point of contact listed in the application will automatically be notified
via email, via the eGrants award management system, once your application is
received.

X.

Application and Submission Information
AFG Application via eGrants system
• Eligible applicants can only apply for AFG Funding online via the eGrants
application at AFG Application portal. The system will allow an authorized
representative to log in and create a user name and password.

20

• Applicants may submit only one application for each component (Vehicle
Acquisition, Operations & Safety, and Regional), but may not submit more than one
application in each component. If an applicant submits two applications for the same
component activity during a single application period, both applications may be
disqualified.
• Username/Password If you have submitted any Assistance to Firefighters Grants
Program (AFGP) applications (AFG, SAFER, FP&S, SCG) in a previous grant cycle,
then you must continue to use the same username, password, and Dun and Bradstreet
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number for every FY 2014
application(s). If you have forgotten your password or your primary point(s) of
contact have changed, please visit http://www.fema.gov/frequently-asked-questions-1
for instructions on how to update and correct your organization’s information.
• Turn Down Notifications: All applicants who do not receive an FY 2014 AFG Award
will receive a decision notification from FEMA via the eGrants award management
system.
§ The turn down email will briefly describe those application factors that
did not adequately align to the higher AFG Program Priorities and
consequently, why the application did not score high enough for
further consideration. Due to the historical volume of turndowns for
these grants, a detailed debrief for each applicant will not be possible.

Application Tips
• For the most competitive application, select those local need(s) that most closely
align with the highest AFG Program Priority.
Example: Organization “X” serves a coastal community and has local needs for
an additional Fire Boat (< 20 feet) for their fleet, advanced Marine Firefighter
training for their members, and new PPE (Turnout gear) to replace their entire 20year old inventory.
1. Fire Boats are a Low priority for all organizations.
2. Marine Firefighter training is a Medium priority for all organizations.
3. Replacing obsolete PPE turnout gear is a High priority for all
organizations.
Organization “X” is eligible to apply for all three activities, but among these local
needs, the PPE request (which matches the High AFG Program Priority) will
be the more competitive application, with the best chance of being funded.
• When filling out the online application, applicants are required to provide basic
demographic information regarding their department and the community served,
but applicants must provide detailed information regarding the items or activities
for which they are seeking funding.
• The applicant must provide a Narrative that includes project description, cost
benefit, and a statement of effect.
• Applicants requesting multiple activities within an AFG component program must
provide a separate Narrative justification for each activity requested.

21

• Your organization’s budget and financial need should be discussed in Fire
Department Characteristics II. Only provide project funding information that is
for the same purpose for which the application was submitted as well as any
funding from other sources (e.g., Federal Government, state funding, grants) for
other fire-related purposes.
• If awarded, your application request(s) may be modified during the award review
process; if the awarded activities, Scope of Work, or amount(s) do not match your
application as submitted, the grantee shall only be responsible for completing the
activities actually funded. The grantee is under no obligation to start, modify, or
complete any activities requested but not funded by this Award. Please review
AFG Award Package; currently Article IV - Amount Awarded, NEGOTIATION
COMMENTS IF APPLICABLE.
A.

Content and Form of Application
Required Forms and Registrations
• Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance
• Standard Form 424A, Budget Information (Non-construction)
• Standard Form 424B, Standard Assurances (Non-construction)
• Standard Form LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if the grantee has
engaged or intends to engage in lobbying activities)
• FEMA Form 20-16C - Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment,
Suspension, and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace
Requirements
The forms above may be accessed and downloaded at

http://www.fema.gov/library/irlSearch.do.

B.

Eligible/Ineligible Applications
Eligible Applications (Examples)
• Fire Department “A” submits one Operations and Safety Application with
a single activity request: Training
• Fire Department “B” submits one Operations and Safety Application with
multiple activity requests: Training, Equipment, PPE, Wellness and
Fitness, and Modifications to Facilities
Ineligible Applications (Examples)
• An eligible applicant submits request(s) for ineligible equipment (e.g.,
firearms)
• An eligible applicant submits request(s) for ineligible activities (e.g.,
construction)
• An eligible applicant submits multiple applications in the same component
program (i.e., not a single application with multiple activities requested)

C.

DUNS Number
The applicant must provide a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number with their application. This DUNS number is a required

22

field within Grants.gov and for SAM registration. The DUNS number provided in
your application must match the DUNS number associated with your SAM
registration.
Organizations should verify they have a DUNS number, or take the steps
necessary to obtain one, as soon as possible. Applicants can receive a DUNS
number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS number request line at
(866) 705-5711.
D.

System for Award Management (SAM), which replaced Central Contractor
Registration (CCR)
Per 2 CFR § 25.205, FEMA may not make an award to an entity until the entity
has complied with the requirements to provide a valid DUNS number and
maintain an active SAM registration with current information. The System for
Award Management (SAM) consolidates federal procurement systems and the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA).
• Applicant registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) is
free! To register, please visit https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/.
• SAM registration is only active for one year and must be renewed
annually.
For existing AFG Awards, FEMA will not process any payment request or
consider any amendment until the grantee has complied with the requirements to
provide a valid DUNS number and has an active SAM registration with current
information; AFG Application information must match your organization’s SAM
Profile and 1199a.
Please ensure that your organization’s name, address, DUNS number, and EIN are
up to date in SAM and that the DUNS number used in SAM is the same one used
to apply for all FEMA applications. Your organization’s name in SAM.gov must
also match the organization name provided on the applicants 1199a. Future
payments will be contingent on the information provided in SAM; therefore, it is
imperative that the information is correct.
There are several ways to get help with SAM:
• Submit a question to the Federal Service Help Desk managed by the
General Services Administration (GSA). Tell them the issues you have
and how they can contact you.
• Use self-service by searching the Answer Center at

http://www.fsd.gov/app/answers/list.

• Call toll-free (866) 606-8220.
• SAM Quick Start Guide For New Grantee Registration and SAM Video
Tutorial for New Applicants are tools created by the General Services
Administration (GSA) to assist those registering with the System for
Award Management (SAM). If you have questions or concerns about your

23

SAM registration, please contact the Federal Support Desk at
https://www.fsd.gov.

E.

How to Get a CAGE Code
To get a CAGE code, you must first be registered in SAM.gov, which is a
requirement for doing business with the federal government.
You will be assigned your CAGE code as part of the SAM validation process, and
as soon as your registration is active, you can view your CAGE code online when
you log in to your SAM account.
NOTE: AFG will accept the organization’s name registered with SAM.gov as the
legal name of the organization for AFG Application and Award purposes. The
organization name on the application and the name in SAM.gov must be the
same.

F.

Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) and/or Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS)
The TDD/FIRS number available for this announcement is (800) 462-7585.

24

APPENDIX A – Program Specific Allocations
I.

Funding Guidance
• FEMA must ensure that awards of available grant funds align and comply
with the program’s statutory authorization in Section 33 of the Federal Fire
Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended (15
USC § 2229).
• AFG is both a discretionary and competitive direct financial assistance
program; as such, not all AFG Applications will be funded.

II.

Allocations and Restrictions of Available Grant Funds by

Organization Type

• Career (Fire Department): Not less than 25 percent of available grant
funds.3
o The term “career fire department” means a fire department that has an
all-paid force of firefighting personnel other than paid on-call
firefighters.
• Volunteer (Fire Department): Not less than 25 percent of available grant
funds
o The term “volunteer fire department” means a fire department that has
an all-volunteer force of firefighting personnel firefighters.
• Combination (Fire Department to include Fire Departments using Paid
On Call/Stipend Firefighting personnel): Not less than 25 percent of
available grant funds.
o The term “combination fire department” means a fire department that
has paid firefighting personnel and volunteer firefighting personnel.
o The term “Paid On Call/Stipend” with respect to firefighting personnel
means firefighting personnel who are paid a nominal fee based on a
per call basis.
NOTE: All funds awarded to career fire departments, volunteer fire departments,
or combination fire departments and fire departments using paid on-call
firefighting personnel are awarded through an open competition amongst those
classifications.
• Nonaffiliated EMS organizations: Not more than 2 percent of available
grant funds.
• Emergency Medical Services Providers: Not less than 3.5 percent of
available grant funds shall fund Emergency Medical Services provided by
fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations.

3

See Footnote 1, above. In the FY 2014 AFG FOA, percentages of “available grant funds” refer to the total amount
appropriated—$340,000,000—by Pub. L. No. 113-66766, and not the amount of Available Funding for this FOA, to
meet the allocation requirements of § 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93498, as amended (15 USC § 2229).

25

• State Fire Training Academy: Not more than $500,000 of available
grant funds per applicant. Further, not more than 3 percent of available
grant funds shall be collectively awarded to all State Fire Training
Academy recipients.
• Vehicles: Not more than 25 percent of available grant funds may be used
by recipients for the purchase of vehicles. Of that amount, FEMA intends
to allocate 10 percent of the total Vehicle Funds for ambulances.
• Micro Grants (MGs): Micro Grants are voluntary choices made by Fire
or nonaffiliated EMS organizations for select Operations and Safety
activities (Equipment, PPE, Training, and Wellness and Fitness) to
voluntarily limit the federal participation (share) to a maximum of
$25,000. Micro Grants are not a separate application or program.
The selection of a Micro Grant option for an eligible Operations and Safety
activity does not impact an applicant’s request or federal participation under the
Vehicle Acquisition or Regional programs.
Applicants that select Micro Grants as a funding opportunity choice may receive
additional consideration for award.

III. Available Grant Funds by Population Served
Award allocations are limited to the maximum amounts listed below as defined in §
33(c)(2) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-498,
as amended (15 USC § 2229(c)(2)). These maximum award levels notwithstanding,
no single applicant may receive a grant in excess of an aggregate of one percent of the
available grant funds based on that fiscal year’s congressional appropriation per 15
USC § 2229(c)(2)(B). In FY 2014, that one percent aggregate cap is $3,400,000.
NOTE: This one percent aggregate cap may be waived in individual cases where
FEMA determines that a grant recipient has an extraordinary need for a grant in
excess of the aggregate cap. The maximum award levels listed below may not be
waived.
Based on 15 USC § 2229(c)(2):
• In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with 100,000 people or
fewer, the amount of available grant funds awarded to such recipient shall not
exceed $1,000,000 in FY 2014.
• In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with more than 100,000
people but not more than 500,000 people, the amount of available grant funds
awarded to such recipient shall not exceed $2,000,000 in FY 2014.
• In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with more than 500,000 but
not more than 1,000,000 people, the amount of available grant funds awarded
to such recipient shall not exceed $3,000,000 in any fiscal year.
• In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with more than 1,000,000
people but not more than 2,500,000 people, the amount of available grant
funds awarded to such recipient shall not exceed $6,000,000 for any fiscal

26

year, but is subject to the one percent aggregate cap of $3,400,000 for FY
2014.
• In the case of a recipient that serves a jurisdiction with more than 2,500,000
people, the amount of available grant funds awarded to such recipient shall
not exceed $9,000,000 in any fiscal year, but is subject to the one percent
aggregate cap of $3,400,000 for FY 2014.
The cumulative total of the federal share of awards in Operations and Safety and
Vehicle Acquisition will be factored when assessing award amounts and any
limitations thereto. Applicants may request funding up to the statutory limit in each of
their applications.
For example, an applicant that serves a population of fewer than 500,000 people may
request up to $2,000,000 on their Operations and Safety Application and up to
$2,000,000 on their Vehicle Acquisition Request. However, should both grants be
awarded, the applicant would have to choose which application to accept if the
cumulative value of both applications exceeds the statutory limits.
Applications for Regional projects will not be included in the host organization’s
funding limitations detailed above. However, Regional Applicants will be subject to
their own limitation based on the total population the Regional project will serve. For
example, a Regional project serving a cumulative population greater than 100,000 but
fewer than 500,000 people will be limited to $2,000,000.
Cost Share Requirements Based on Population
In general, an eligible applicant seeking a grant to carry out an activity shall agree to
make available non-federal funds to carry out such activity in an amount equal to and
not less than 15 percent of the grant awarded, except for entities serving small
communities:
• When serving a jurisdiction of more than 20,000 residents, but not more than
1,000,000 residents, the applicant shall agree to make available non-federal
funds in an amount equal to and not less than 10 percent of the grant awarded.
• 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 and not less
than five (5) percent of the grant awarded

IV. Fire Prevention and Safety
FEMA will also continue to allocate FP&S Grant Funding and will have a separate
FOA and application period devoted to FP&S Grants. $34,000,000 has been allocated
for this purpose for FY 2014. FEMA anticipates that the FP&S Application Period
will open during the first quarter of calendar year 2015.

27

APPENDIX B – Application Guidelines and Program Priorities
Appendix B contains more detailed information on AFG Application Guidelines and Program
Priorities. Reviewing this information may help applicants make their application(s) more
competitive.

I.

Criteria Development Panel (CDP)
For the FY 2014 grant program, the CDP is comprised of Subject Matter Experts
(SMEs) from these nine major fire service organizations:
• Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI)
• International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI)
• International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
• International Association of Firefighters (IAFF)
• International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI)
• National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
• North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD)
The AFG-FOA reflects the CDP’s recommendations for program priorities designed
to address:
• Protecting the public
• First responder safety
• Enhancing capabilities and resilience (local, regional, and national)
• Risk
• Interoperability

II.

AFG Programs and Eligible Activities
Programs Overview
1. Operations and Safety: Training, Equipment, PPE, Wellness and Fitness, and
Modifications to Facilities
2. Vehicle Acquisition: New, custom, or stock AFG Program-compliant Vehicles
are eligible; refurbished and used (previously owned) vehicles are not eligible
under the Vehicle Acquisition program
3. Regional*: Two or more eligible entities may submit an application under the
name of a single participating organization (the “host”) to fund a Regional
component program or initiative (acquisition activities are limited to shared
Training, Equipment, PPE, and Vehicle Acquisition)
*A Regional Applicant (the host organization) is not prevented from also submitting
applications on behalf of their own organization for any or all remaining AFG
component programs (Vehicle Acquisition and/or Operations and Safety); however,

28

duplicative acquisition requests for the same activities, submitted both as a singular
applicant and Regional Applicant, are not allowed.

III.

Eligible/Ineligible Applicants
Eligible Applicants Include
Fire Department: 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.*** Fire
departments are those operating in any of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally recognized Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, or an Alaskan native village, Alaska Regional
Native Corporation, or the Alaska Village Initiatives.
**Formally Recognized Arrangement: An agreement between the fire
department and a local jurisdiction such that the jurisdiction has publicly or
otherwise formally deemed that the fire department has the first-due response
responsibilities within a fixed geographical area of the jurisdiction. Often this
agreement is recognized or reported to the appropriate state entity with
cognizance over fire departments, such as registration with the state fire marshal's
office, or the agreement is specifically contained in the fire department's or
jurisdiction's charter.
***Primary First Due Response Area: A geographical area in proximity to a
fire or rescue facility and normally served by the personnel and apparatus from
that facility in the event of a fire or other emergency.
NOTE: Applicants already eligible to apply for AFG retain the discretion of not
providing Automatic Aid (Fire and/or nonaffiliated EMS) response to another
jurisdiction’s first due response area. Providing Automatic Aid is not a
requirement for eligible organizations to apply to AFG.
Nonaffiliated EMS organization: An agency or organization that is a public or private
nonprofit emergency medical services 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. Nonaffiliated EMS
organizations are those operating in any of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any federally recognized Indian
tribe or authorized tribal organization, or an Alaskan native village, Alaska Regional
Native Corporation, or the Alaska Village Initiatives.
AFG considers the following as hospitals:
• Clinics

29

•
•
•
•
•

Medical centers
Medical college or university
Infirmary
Surgery centers
Any other institution, association, or foundation providing medical, surgical, or
psychiatric care and/or treatment for the sick or injured.

NOTE: While fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations may share some
common program priorities, there are some restricted activities for nonaffiliated EMS
organizations. Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are not eligible to request any activity
that is specific or unique to structural/proximity firefighting.
Example: Nonaffiliated EMS requests for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
for Firefighting.
Eligible: Nonaffiliated EMS requests for PPE compliant to NFPA1999: Standard
on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations.
Ineligible: Nonaffiliated EMS requests for PPE compliant to NFPA 1971:
Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity
Fire Fighting or NFPA 1976: Standard on Protective Ensemble for Proximity
Fire Fighting or NFPA 1977: Standard on Protective Clothing and Equipment for
Wildland Fire Fighting.
State Fire Training Academy: Any State Fire Training Academy operating in any of the
50 states plus the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico shall be eligible to apply for and receive an AFG Grant of direct financial
assistance. For the purposes of the AFG Program, an SFTA is defined as the primary
State Fire Training Academy, agency, or institution for each state. It provides entity-wide
delivery of fire training (and emergency medical services training if applicable) as
specified by legislative authorization, by general statutory authorization or charter, or is
ad-hoc in nature with the general acceptance of the fire service. The SFTA shall receive
state funding for its program in total or part. It shall also have the delivery of fire training
programs as the primary function of the agency or institution as demonstrated by the
employment of instructional staff and the conducting of “direct contact” programs in
training and education for fire service personnel of the entire state. A listing of eligible
SFTA organizations and institutions can be found at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/pocs/.
Eligible SFTA applicants may apply for all activities under the AFG component program
Vehicle Acquisition, but are only eligible to apply for the activities of Equipment and
PPE under the component program Operations and Safety and are not eligible to apply
for any activities under the Regional program.

30

Furthermore, eligible SFTA Applicants must act as the primary grantee. No sub-grantee
arrangements are permitted under the terms and conditions of any AFG component
programs (Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition, or Regional) by any grantee.
Regardless of a state’s mechanism(s) for funding their SFTAs, no AFG Award of direct
financial assistance made to a SFTA can be reduced, revised, redirected, or withheld by
the SFTA’s state or any authorized entity of the SFTA’s State.
Other Eligible Applicants that may qualify as a Fire Department or Nonaffiliated EMS
Organization
• Non-federal nonprofit organizations with a recognized primary first due response
area that have a pre-existing formally recognized arrangement to provide
automatic aid (fire and/or nonaffiliated EMS) response to another jurisdiction’s
first due response area(s) will be considered eligible AFG Applicants.
• A municipality may submit an application on behalf of a fire department or
nonaffiliated EMS organization when the organization, defined as a fire
department or nonaffiliated EMS organization, lacks the legal status to do so, i.e.,
when the organization falls within the auspices of the municipality or district.
Ineligible Organizations
• Fire departments that are a Federal Government entity, or contracted by the
Federal Government, and are solely responsible under a formally recognized
agreement for suppression of fires on federal installations or land.
• Fire stations that are not independent entities, but are part of, controlled by, or
under the day-to-day operational direction of a larger fire department or agency.
• Fire departments that are for-profit organizations.
• Auxiliaries, fire service organizations or associations, fire marshals, and hospitals.
• Dive teams and search and rescue teams, or any similar organizations that do not
provide medical transport.
NOTE: FEMA considers two or more separate fire departments, or nonaffiliated EMS

organizations, sharing facilities as being one organization. This determination is designed

to avoid duplication of benefits. If two or more organizations share facilities and each

submits an application in the same program area, FEMA may deem all of those program

area applications ineligible.

Supporting Definitions:

Automatic Aid (Per NFPA 1710, 3.3.2.1 - 2010 edition and NFPA1720 - 2009) is a plan

developed between two or more fire departments for immediate joint response on first

alarms.

Mutual Aid (Per NFPA 1710, 3.3.2.1 - 2010 edition and NFPA1720 - 2009) is a written

intergovernmental agreement between agencies and/or jurisdictions stating that they will

assist one another on request by furnishing personnel, equipment, and/or expertise in a

specified manner.

31

Metro Department: A metro fire department is one that has minimum staffing of 350
paid, career firefighters as defined by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).
AFG collects this information for statistical purposes only. Status as a metro department
is not a factor in scoring or funding.
NOTE: No organization is required to have federal tax exempt status under §§ 501(c)(3)
or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code to apply for or receive any AFG Award. For
more information on tax exempt organizations, please see IRS Publication 557 TaxExempt Status for Your Organization at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557.pdf.

IV. Restrictions on Use of Award Funds
AFG has three component programs: Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition, and
Regional. Each component has its own application and its own eligibility requirements.
• Each requested activity in each component program will be reviewed and scored
on its own merit.
• Eligible fire departments, nonaffiliated EMS organizations, or SFTAs* may
submit only one application for each, any, or all three interconnected AFG
component programs (Operations & Safety, Vehicle Acquisition, and Regional).
Each application may contain as many component program activities as the
applicant believes is required to support their mission.
*NOTE: State Fire Training Academies are eligible to apply for all activities under
the AFG Program Vehicle Acquisition, but are only eligible to apply for the activities
of Equipment and Personal Protective Equipment under Operations and Safety, and
are not eligible to apply for any activities under Regional.
• No AFG Funds may be used to support hiring (part-time or full-time), salaries,
benefits, or fringe benefits for any personnel.
• Only documented back fill and overtime costs to support awarded Training
activities are allowable personnel expenses.
• Instructor’s rates/base rates should be provided as part of the Narrative, as well as
the market researched competitive rate for delivering the requested training.
• If the instruction provided for an awarded training activity is delivered by an
existing member(s) of the grantee’s organization; only the established base rate of
compensation, without benefits or overtime, may be eligible for reimbursement.
• A grantee organization may choose to pay a member delivering training a rate in
excess of the awarded base rate as described in the application Narrative (or as
determined competitive), but only the awarded base rate is chargeable to the
Instructor activity.

V.

Prioritization of AFG Grant Awards
In awarding grants, the Administrator of FEMA shall consider the following:
• The findings and recommendations of the peer reviews

32

• The degree to which an award will reduce deaths, injuries, and property
damage by reducing the risks associated with fire related and other hazards
• The extent of an applicant’s need for an AFG Grant and the need to protect
the United States as a whole
• The number of calls requesting or requiring a firefighting or emergency
medical response received by an applicant

VI.

New for FY 2014
Eligible programs choices for FY 2014 AFG Applicants have been reformatted
for clarity
Applicant Eligible Programs
• Fire Department/Fire District (Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition)
• Fire Department/Fire District Regional (Operations and Safety)
• Nonaffiliated EMS Organization (Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition)
• Nonaffiliated EMS Organization Regional (Operations and Safety)
• State Fire Training Academy (Operations and Safety, Vehicle Acquisition)
• Regional Vehicle
Applicants must affirm all of the following in order to complete and submit an
AFG Application:
• The applicant organization has provided its own unique DUNS number in this
application.
• The applicant organization, as required per 2 CFR § 25.205, is currently
registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).
• The applicant organization has consulted the appropriate FOA and that all
requested activities are programmatically allowable, technically feasible, and
can be completed within the award’s one year Period of Performance.
• The applicant organization is aware that this application period is open from
11/03/2014 to 12/5/2015 and will close at 5 PM EST; further that the applicant
organization is aware that that once an application is submitted, even if the
application period is still open, a submitted application cannot be changed or
released back to the applicant for modification.
• The applicant organization is aware that it is solely the applicant
organization’s responsibility to ensure that all activities funded by this
award(s) comply with federal EHP regulations, laws, and Executive Orders as
applicable. The EHP Screening Form designed to initiate and facilitate the
EHP Review is available at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/assets/documents/90195.
• The applicant organization is aware that it is ultimately responsible for the
accuracy of all application information submitted. Regardless of the
applicant’s intent, the submission of information that is false or misleading
may result in actions by FEMA that include, but are not limited to the
submitted application not being considered for award, an existing award being
locked pending investigation, or referral to the Office of the Inspector
General.

33

Ballistic Protective Equipment (BPE) eligible under PPE
Requests for Ballistic Protective Equipment are now eligible as a new mission under
PPE. A set of BPE is comprised of one vest, one helmet, one triage bag, and one pair
of goggles.
Fire and EMS organizations are encouraged to establish joint interagency plans, policies,
and procedures that address active shooter/MCI response operations. The development of
such doctrine should be coordinated among the fire/EMS response organizations; law
enforcement, public safety, and private sector responder agencies; and regionally with
hospitals and receiving medical facilities. In addition, fire and EMS personnel should be
properly trained and qualified in the use of the ballistic protection equipment and active
shooter/MCI tactics and procedures. Interagency training and exercises are highly
encouraged.

Environmental and Historical Preservation
FEMA Policy 108.024.4 (linked below) provides procedural guidelines for
completing environmental reviews as required by the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) in cases where Federal Emergency Management Agency funded projects
require initiation or action prior to the completion of the environmental review.
Please see FEMA Environmental Planning and Historical Preservation Policy
108.024.4, dated December 18, 2013, at http://www.fema.gov/media-librarydata/1388411752234-6ddb79121951a68e9ba036d2569aa488/18Dec13NoNEPAReview.pdf.
NOTE: It is FEMA policy that actions initiated and/or completed without fulfilling
the specific documentation and procedural requirements of NEPA may not be
considered for funding.
For more details see Appendix C, II. Other Allowable Costs, I. Environmental
Planning and Historic Preservation Compliance.
Certain Allowable Items Moved from Training to Equipment
For the FY 2014 AFG Program, all simulators, as well as mobile or fixed
fire/evolution props (e.g., burn trailers, forcible entry, rescue/smoke maze) and Tow
Vehicles, have been moved from the Training activity to the Equipment activity.
PPE and SCBA: Definition of Obsolescence
In order for SCBA/PPE to be considered obsolete, it must be a minimum of two
NFPA cycles and 10 years of age or older.
Vehicles
Refurbished and used (previously owned) vehicles are no longer eligible for
acquisition and are not an eligible grant expense.
Beginning in FY 2014, the acquisition of a Non-Transport Nonaffiliated EMS
(Healthcare) vehicle for Community Paramedic services is High priority.
34

Updated Regional Vehicle Priorities
Priority

Vehicle Type
•
•
•
•
•
•

Aerial
Mobile Command Vehicle
Air/Light Utility
Bariatric Ambulance
Rehab Unit
Non-Transport Nonaffiliated EMS (Healthcare) - Community
Paramedic

•
•

Heavy Tech Rescue (including water rescue)
Highway safety unit

•
•
•

Hazmat
Specialized Foam truck
Hybrid (Fire/Nonaffiliated EMS)

Federal Regulations governing Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
FEMA anticipates that all FY 2014 AFG Awards will be made after the adoption of
new regulations governing administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit
requirements for federal awards. For additional information, see the full FOA, Section
VIII. Other Critical Information.

VII. Application Narratives
An applicant’s Narrative is an opportunity for an organization to highlight their local
capability gaps and community’s unique needs. The use of templates or copied
narratives, while not prohibited, is discouraged and may cause your application to be
scored lower during Peer Panel Review, or ultimately for your application to not
receive further consideration of award.
Since AFG Program Priorities may shift based on applicant type and the community
being served, a template application may not be competitive for your organization
community type.

VIII. Community Classifications
The information your organization supplies in Department Characteristics I & II of
the AFG Application determines whether your jurisdiction is identified by AFG as
urban, suburban, or rural.

35

The US Census Bureau’s urban-rural classifications are fundamentally a delineation
of geographical areas. For more information, please visit
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/urbanruralclass.html. The FY 2014
demographics for determining urban, suburban, and rural are as follows:
Community

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Population of
primary response
area

>3,000/sq. mi. or
50,000+ population

1,000-2,999/sq. mi.
or 25,000-50,000
population

0-999/sq.
mi. or
<25,000
population

Water Supply
(percentage of
primary response
area covered by
hydrant service)

75-100% hydrants
(municipal water)

50-74% hydrants

<50%
hydrant

Land Use within
primary response
area

<25% for agriculture
(based on zoning)
industrial and
commercial combined
>50%

25-49% used for
agriculture (based on
zoning) industrial
and commercial
combined >25-49%

50% used
for
agriculture
(based on
zoning)
industrial
and
commercial
combined
<25%

Number of stations
per square mile
within primary
response area

<3 sq. mi. per station

3-9 sq. mi. per
station

>10 sq. mi.
per station

IX. P25 Compliance
The only eligible AFG activity for interoperable communications equipment is the
acquisition of P25-compliant equipment. There are no P25 waivers for interoperable
communications equipment compliance.
P25 compliant equipment is programmable, scalable, and can communicate in analog
mode with legacy radios and in both analog and digital mode with other P25
equipment. P25 compliance enhances interoperability, allowing first responders to
communicate with each other to coordinate their response to and mitigate all hazards.
It is the grantee’s responsibility to obtain documented evidence that the equipment to
be acquired has been tested and passed all the applicable P25 requirements and the

36

grantee shall be able to produce such documentation to the AFG Program Office upon
request.
AFG Applicants do not have to identify a specific P25-compliant product in their
application narrative, but they must affirm that the interoperable communications
equipment requested or acquired will be P25 compliant. The procurement of
communications equipment that does not meet the P25 compliance equipment is
considered unallowable and may not be reimbursed or paid for using AFG Grant
funds.
As an initial step in researching P25 compliant communications equipment, for either
your Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Application or an AFG Award, please
visit the DHS Lessons Learned Information Sharing Website, RKB Certifications &
Declarations at https://www.llis.dhs.gov/knowledgebase/certifications-declarationslist.
• Type in the Title box the vendor/manufacturer name of the equipment being
researched and hit Apply.
• Products listed will have supporting P25 compliance documentation. Click on
the product for specification details and documentation.
NOTE: This site is a resource and under constant development; there may be
products for a vendor that are P25 compliant but not currently listed.
SAFECOM Guidance for Emergency Communications Grants Compliance
Grantees using AFG Funds to support emergency communications activities should
comply with the technical specifications of FY 2014 SAFECOM Guidance for
Emergency Communications Grants. SAFECOM Guidance is available at
http://www.safecomprogram.gov/ecg/2014_safecom_guidance_final.pdf.

X.

AFG Program Priorities and Eligible/Ineligible Activities
A.

Operations and Safety
Overview
FEMA has determined that due to the inherent differences among urban,
suburban, and rural communities, AFG shall assign a priority ranking to program
activities that are based on community type served by the applicant(s).
• Program priorities for the Operations and Safety activities (Training,
Equipment, PPE, and Modification to Facilities) are listed as High ,
Medium , or Low .
• Within each identified program priority (High , Medium , or Low ),
all the proposed activities within that priority ranking have an equal
scoring value.
• In the Wellness & Fitness activity, AFG uses Priority 1 & Priority 2
instead of the High , Medium , or Low Descriptions.

37

• Wellness & Fitness Applicants must have all four Priority 1 activities
already in place (or request any missing Priority 1 activity(ies) to have all
four in place), or they will be unable to request any Priority 2 activities in
their application. Simultaneous requests for Priority 1 and Priority 2
activity(ies) will receive a lower funding consideration than requests that
complete the bundle of the four Priority 1 activities.
• Micro Grants (MGs): Micro Grants are not a separate application or
program. They are a voluntary choice, made by Fire and nonaffiliated
EMS organizations for activities (Equipment, PPE, Training, and Wellness
and Fitness) within the Operations and Safety application, to limit the
federal participation (share) to a maximum of $25,000 for all Operations
and Safety activities.
§

The selection of a Micro Grant option for any Operations and Safety
activity does not impact an applicant’s request or federal participation
under the Vehicle Acquisition or Regional programs. No overmatching
will be permitted for projects proposed under Micro Grants. Applicants
that select Micro Grants as a funding opportunity choice may receive
additional consideration for award.

IMPORTANT: Improperly requesting an Operations and Safety activity may
disqualify your request.
• Do not request flashlights under PPE. Flashlights are equipment.
• Do not request RIT packs under PPE. RIT packs are equipment
• Do not request Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout Systems under equipment.
Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout Systems are PPE.
• Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations, other than
Regional Award Applicants, shall not give, sell, lease, or lend for a period
exceeding 30 days, or otherwise distribute, any grant funded asset(s) to
any organization.
NOTE: Grantees may allow non-members to benefit from awarded
Training or the byproduct of an awarded asset, e.g., filling another
organization’s SCBA cylinders using a grant funded compressor.
• Regional Award Recipients shall distribute grant acquired assets among
the host and all participating partners in the manner described in the
Regional Application Narrative and MOU or Letter of Agreement.
• Lease or installment plans to fund any activity are not eligible and will not
be reimbursed.
• AFG-funded Assets awarded to a SFTA under the Operations and Safety
Program Component shall be distributed at the discretion of the SFTA in
the manner described and as enumerated in the State Fire Training
Academy’s application Narrative, as long as that distribution does not
include an AFG eligible department or organization.

38

• The US Department of Transportation, under the National EMS Scope of
Practice Model, has changed the titles for EMS providers. Under this
program, the titles below have changed and FEMA has incorporated these
changes. First Responder is now Emergency Medical Responder.
o EMT-B is now EMT.
o EMT-I is now EMT Advanced.
o EMT-P is now Paramedic.
o Community Paramedics (Paramedics with Primary Care
certification)

B.

Training
NOTE: The following applicant types are ineligible to apply under this activity:
• SFTA
Priority 1 Activities
• FFI
• FFII
• EMT
• Hazmat Ops
Overview
• FEMA has determined that hands-on, instructor-led training that meets a
national, state, and/or DHS-adopted standard and results in a national or
state certification provides the greatest training benefit.
• Applications focused on national or state certification training, including
train-the-trainer initiatives, receive a higher competitive rating.
• Instructor-led training that requires student testing to demonstrate
academic competence and/or practical proficiency for certification will
receive a high competitive rating.
• Instructor-led training that does not lead to a certification, as well as any
self-taught courses, is of lower benefit and therefore not a high priority.
• Proposed training projects that benefit the highest percentage of applicable
personnel, such as the hazardous materials training within a fire
department or training that will be open to other departments in the region,
receive a high competitive rating.
• Training requested, under Additional Funding, to support awarded
Vehicle, Equipment, or PPE activities.
NOTE: Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible for Training activities that
are not specific or unique to structural/proximity or wildland firefighting such as,
but not limited to, Hazmat or CBRNE training. For more information, please see
Nonaffiliated EMS – Additional Considerations for Training.

39

Eligible Training Activities for Fire Departments and Regional Applications include but
are not limited to
•
•
•
•

•

•

Train-the-trainer courses
Alternative fuel firefighting
Response to natural disasters
Minor interior alterations (requested
under Additional Funding and limited to
$10,000 total expenditure) to support the
awarded Training activities (e.g.,
removal/construction of a non-weight
bearing wall)
Overtime expenses paid to career
firefighters to attend training or to
backfill positions for colleagues who are
in training
Compensation to volunteers (Fire and
nonaffiliated EMS) for wages lost to
attend training; there is no overtime or
backfill for volunteers

•
•
•

•

•

Tuition, exam/course fees, and
certifications/certification expenses
Purchase of training curricula and training
services (instructors)
Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear
and Explosive (CBRNE) awareness,
performance, planning, and management
Travel expenses associated with Type 3
Incident Management Teams (IMT)
attending position development/mentoring
assignment with national Type 2 or Type 1
IMTs
Those supplies or expendables or “onetime” use items essential for an award’s
scope of work, such as breaching materials
(e.g., wood or sheetrock) for ventilation or
rescue props, or the amount of fuel required
to sustain an awarded live fire training
activity, or per NFPA1403 Standard on Live
Fire Training Evolutions, reasonable safety
mitigations to a structure acquired for
training

NOTE: NIMS/ICS includes the All-Hazard Incident Management Team (Type 3) Training and
associated mentoring requirement.
Ineligible Fire Department and Joint/Regional Training Activities include but are not
limited to
•
•
•
•

•

Construction of facilities (buildings, towers, sheds, •
etc.)
Firefighting equipment or PPE, such as SCBA,
used exclusively for training
Remodeling not directly related to grant activities
Any costs associated with planning and/or
participating in formal or planned special event
exercises to identify user needs, evaluate an
organization’s performance capabilities, validate
existing capabilities, or to facilitate coordination
and asset sharing
Supplies, expendables, or common “one- time” use
•
items not in support of Training (e.g., soaps,

40

Site preparation to accommodate
or modify any training activity,
facility, or prop that is a
permanent or semi-permanent
improvement, including but not
limited to: landscaping, cutting or
grading an access road, trenching,
paving a training area, exterior
stairs or sidewalks, or the
installation of utilities is an
ineligible and non-reimbursable
Training activity
Purchase or lease of real estate

Ineligible Fire Department and Joint/Regional Training Activities include but are not
limited to
disinfectant wipes, medical gowns/gloves,
•
bandages, any drug, intravenous bags/fluids,
defibrillator pads/electrodes, syringes, cervical
collars, batteries, exhaust system filters, and
splints)
NOTE: All simulators and all mobile or fixed
fire/evolution props (e.g., burn trailers, forcible entry,
rescue/smoke maze) are being moved from Training to
Equipment.

Lease or installment purchase of
Tow Vehicle

All of the following are considerations in prescoring and peer panelist review:
Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, and Regional Training Priorities
Training

NFPA #

NFPA 1001 (firefighter I, II)

1001

NFPA (instructor)

1041

NFPA 472 (Hazmat operations)

472

NFPA 1581 (infection control)

1581

Confined space (awareness)

1670

Wildland firefighting (basic)

1143

Wildland firefighting certification
(red card)

1051/1143

Rapid intervention training

1407

NFPA (officer)

1021

Emergency medical responder

1710

Firefighter safety and survival

1407

Safety officer

1521

Driver/operator

1002

Fire prevention

1/909/913/

41

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, and Regional Training Priorities
1035
Fire inspector

1031

Fire investigator

1033

Fire educator

1041

NIMS/ICS

1561

Firefighter physical ability program

1583

Emergency scene rehab

1584

Critical Incident debriefing

1500/1583

Any training to a National/State or
NFPA standards
Compliance with federal/statemandated program
NFPA (rescue technician)

1006/1670

Paramedic (EMT-P)
EMT Advanced
Emergency Medical Technician
(EMT)
Vehicle rescue

1670

Other officer

1021

NFPA (ARFF)

1003/402
403/408/
409/410/
412/414/
415

Weapons of Mass Destruction
(awareness, other/specialized)

472

Mass casualty

42

Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, and Regional Training Priorities
Weapons of Mass Destruction
(operations)

472

Weapons of Mass Destruction
(technician)

472

Hazmat (technician)

472

Training to address a local risk not
elevated to a national or state
standard
Maritime Firefighting
Instructor-led training that does not
lead to certification
Self-taught courses
Training not elevated to a national or
state standard
Training that addresses a specific
operational capability
Nonaffiliated EMS – Additional Considerations for Training
Since training is a prerequisite to the effective use of EMS equipment, FEMA has
determined that it is more cost-effective to enhance or expand an existing nonaffiliated
EMS organization by providing training or equipment than it is to create a new service.
Therefore, communities attempting to initiate nonaffiliated EMS services will receive the
lowest competitive rating.
AFG provides training grants to meet the educational and performance requirements of
nonaffiliated EMS personnel. Training should align with the US National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which designs and specifies a National Standard
Curriculum for EMT training and the National Registry of Emergency Medical
Technicians (NREMT), a private, central certifying entity whose primary purpose is to
maintain a national standard (NREMT also provides certification information for
paramedics who relocate to another state).
A higher priority due to time and cost of upgrading an organization’s response level
is:
• Organizations seeking to elevate the response level from EMT Advanced (EMT-I)
to Paramedic (EMT-P)
• Organizations seeking to elevate the response level from EMT (EMT-B) to EMT
Advanced (EMT-I)
43

• Organizations seeking to train a high percentage of the active EMRs will receive
additional consideration when applying under the Training activity
A lower priority due to time and cost of upgrading an organization’s response level
is:
• Organizations seeking to upgrade from Emergency Medical Responder (First
Responder) to EMT (EMT-B)
• Organizations seeking to upgrade from EMT (EMT-B) to Paramedic (EMT-P)
NOTE: Organizations seeking training in rescue or Hazmat operations will receive lower
consideration than organizations seeking training for medical services.
• The lowest priority is to fund Emergency Medical Responder (First
Responders).
Additional Eligible Nonaffiliated EMS Training Activities include but are not limited to
•
•
•
•
•

Community Paramedics (EMT-Ps with
Primary Care certification)
Emergency Medical Responder (First
Responder)
EMT (EMT B)
EMT Advanced (EMT- I)
Paramedic (EMT-P)

•
•

•

•

C.

Attendance at formal training
forums or conferences providing
continuing education credits, etc.
Overtime expenses paid to career
nonaffiliated EMS responders to
attend training or to backfill
positions for colleagues who are
in training
Compensation to volunteers (Fire
and nonaffiliated EMS) for
wages lost to attend training;
there is no overtime or backfill
for volunteers
Those supplies or expendables or
“one- time” use items essential to
complete the Training activity of
a nonaffiliated EMS award’s
scope of work

Equipment
Equipment Priorities
NOTE: Only Priority 1 activities are eligible under Micro Grants.,

Priority 1 – Basic Equipment, Communications, and EMS/Rescue
Basic Equipment
•
•
•
•

Appliance(s)/Nozzle(s)
Generator – Portable
Basic Hand Tools (Structural/Wildland)
Electric/Gas Powered Saws/Tools

•
•
•

44

Hose (Attack/Supply)
RIT Pack with Cylinder
Flashlights

•
•
•
•
•
•

Foam Eductors
Ropes, Harnesses, Carabineers, Pulleys, etc.
Air Compressor/Fill Station/Cascade System
(Fixed or Mobile) for filling SCBA
PPE Washer/Extractor/Dryer
Computers used in support of Training
Simulators, trailers, mobile simulators, props

•
•
•
•
•

Ladders
Thermal Imaging Camera (must be
NFPA1801 Compliant)
Automatic Chest Compression Device
(CPR)
Personal Accountability Systems
(previously under PPE)
Mobile computing devices intended to be
used on scene

Communications
•
•
•
•

Base Station (must be P25 Compliant)
Headsets
Mobile Radios (must be P-25 Compliant)
Mobile Repeaters (must be P25 Compliant)

•
•
•

Mobile Date Terminal (MDT)
Pagers
Portable Radios (must be P-25
Compliant)

•
•
•
•
•
•

EMS/Rescue Equipment
Cutter/Spreader
Pulse Oximeters
Stretchers, Backboards, Splint, etc.
Blood Pressure Cuffs
Stethoscopes

EMS/Rescue
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Airway Equipment (Non-Disposable)
Vehicle Extrication Equipment
Power lift cots/stretchers
Monitor/Defibrillator-15 leads
Responder Rehab Equipment
Power Lift Cots/Stretchers
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
BLS Level

Priority 2 – Hazmat and Specialized
Hazmat
•

•

Decon, Clean-Up, Containment and Packaging
Equipment
• Basic Hazmat Response Equipment
Specialized
•
•
•
•
•

Portable Pump
Mobile Generator
Class One Boats (20 feet or less)
Class A Boats
Traffic signal preemption systems

Monitoring and Sampling
Devices

•
•
•
•
•

Skid Unit
Specialized Equipment (Other)
Ballistic PPE
Fixed Repeaters
Tow Vehicles

•
•

Lights
Monitoring and Sampling
Devices

Priority 3 – Investigations and CBRNE
Investigation
•
•

Cameras
Investigation Tools

45

CBRNE Equipment
•

•

Non-Disposable Biological Detection

CBRNE-related Equipment

Overview
AFG Grant funds for equipment shall enhance the safety and effectiveness of firefighting,
rescue, and fire-based and nonaffiliated EMS emergency medical functions and for the
training to support the proper use of grant funded equipment.
When requesting to replace obsolete or damaged equipment, the goal should be to
increase the safety of the emergency responders. AFG-funded equipment should solve
interoperability or compatibility problems as may be required by local jurisdictions.
Equipment, particularly decontamination and Hazmat equipment, will only be funded to
the current level of an organization’s operational capabilities.
AFG-funded equipment must meet all mandatory requirements, as well as any voluntary
consensus standards or national and/or state or DHS-Adopted Standards. The equipment
should improve the health and safety of firefighters and protect the public.
Reminder: When requesting training for any items in this section, enter the request under
“Other” in “Additional Funding” in the “Request Details” section.
NOTE:
• Accountability systems are now located under equipment (Moved from PPE).
• All simulators and all mobile or fixed fire/evolution props (e.g., burn trailers,
forcible entry, rescue/smoke maze) are being moved from Training to Equipment.
NOTE: Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible for Equipment activities that are
not specific or unique to structural/proximity firefighting, such as but not limited to P25compliant radios or traffic signal preemption systems. For more information, see
Nonaffiliated EMS – Additional Considerations for Equipment below.
Eligible Fire Eligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire
Training Academy Equipment Activities include but are not limited to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Shipping, taxes, assembly, and
installation of the requested equipment
Extended warranties and service
agreements if acquired concurrent
with initial acquisition
Foam and associated equipment
Training specific to the requested
equipment
Automated external defibrillators
Rapid Intervention Packs (Not PPE)
Boats 20 feet or less in length

•
•
•
•

Equipment for response to incidents
involving CBRNE/WMD
Portable radios are limited to AFG-approved
seated positions
Individual pagers are limited to operational
members
Requested support activities for Equipment
requiring supplies or expendables or “onetime” use items essential for an award’s
scope of work, such as breaching materials
(e.g., wood or sheetrock) for ventilation or

46

Eligible Fire Eligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire
Training Academy Equipment Activities include but are not limited to:
•
•
•

Maritime firefighting equipment
(NFPA 1925: Standard on Marine
Fire-Fighting Vessels)
Mobile computing devices intended to
be used on scene
Minor interior alterations (requested
under Additional Funding and limited •
to $10,000 total expenditure) to
•
support the awarded Equipment
activities (e.g., removal/construction
of a non-weight bearing wall)

rescue props, or the amount of fuel required
to sustain an awarded live fire training
activity, or per NFPA1403 Standard on Live
Fire Training Evolutions, reasonable safety
mitigations to a structure acquired for
training
Driver Training Simulators and Mobile Fire
Evolution Props, e.g., Burn Trailers
Purchase of Tow Vehicles (if justified in the
Narrative); Federal participation is limited to
$6,000 per application

Ineligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Joint/Regional and State Fire Training
Academy Equipment Activities include but are not limited to:
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
•

Construction of facilities, such as
buildings, towers, sheds to house
communications, or other equipment
Repeaters that will not be installed or
attached to an existing vehicle
Sirens or other outdoor warning
devices
Signage of any kind
Phones (telephone/satellite/cell)
New communications projects or
expanding existing communications
projects that operate on the 700 MHz
public safety broadband spectrum
Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout
Systems (PPE)
Computer assisted dispatch (CAD)
systems
Flashover simulators

•
•
•
•
•
•

•

Nonaffiliated EMS expendable supplies
(including, but not limited to, medications,
gloves, syringes, and cervical collars)
Vehicles and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)
Bomb disposal equipment and robots
Mobile radios for personally owned vehicles
(except chief fire officer’s personal vehicle, if
justified)
Interoperable communications equipment that
is not P25 compliant
Those supplies or expendables or common
“one-time” use items such as soaps,
disinfectant wipes, medical gowns/gloves,
bandages, any drug, intravenous bags/fluids,
defibrillator pads/electrodes, syringes, cervical
collars, batteries, exhaust system filters, and
splints
Drones and other aerial surveillance devices

All of the following are considerations in prescoring and peer panelist review:
Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire Training Academy
Equipment Priorities
First-time purchase (never owned by applicant) to support existing mission and/or
replace obsolete or damaged equipment

47

Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire Training Academy
Equipment Priorities
Increased capabilities within the department’s existing mission or to meet a new
risk
Requesting items for a new mission to meet an existing risk and/or request
additional supplies or reserve equipment
Additional Considerations
•
•
•
•

Equipment that has a direct effect on firefighters’ health and safety
Age of equipment considered for replacement has changed from 10 to 15 years
Equipment that benefits other jurisdictions
Equipment that brings the department into compliance with a national recommended
standard, (e.g., NFPA) or statutory compliance (e.g., Occupational Safety & Health
Administration [OSHA]) will receive the highest additional consideration

Nonaffiliated EMS – Additional Considerations for Equipment

All of the following are considerations in prescoring and peer panelist review:

Nonaffiliated EMS Priorities
Departments requesting to upgrade service from Basic Life Support (BLS) to
Advanced Life Support (ALS)
Departments requesting to expand current service
Departments requesting new service or replacing obsolete or damaged equipment
Nonaffiliated EMS Level of Response
Advanced Life Support (ALS)
Basic Life Support (BLS)
Hazmat operations/technicians
Rescue operations/technicians

D.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Priority

(High)

Structural/Proximity
• Boots
• Coats

48

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Goggles
Helmets
Complete set of Firefighting turnout gear (NFPA1971, 1976, or 1977)
Complete set of EMS turnout gear (NFPA 1999)
Hoods
Personal safety/Rescue bailout system
Pants
Gloves
Suspenders
PASS Device
ANSI Traffic Vests

Wildland
• Jumpsuits/Coveralls
• Shelters
• Web Gear/Backpacks/Canteens
• Helmets
• Eye Protection
• Gloves
• Hoods
• ANSI Traffic Vests
Respiratory
• SCBA with Face Piece-with extra cylinder
• Air-line units
• SCBA spare cylinders
• Respirators
• Face pieces
Overview
AFG Funds may only be used to acquire PPE for firefighting and nonaffiliated EMS
personnel, which meet OSHA, NFPA, or other applicable standards.
PPE requested should have the goal of increasing firefighter safety. When requesting to
replace obsolete or damaged PPE (Turnout gear and SCBA), you will be asked to provide
the age of the items being replaced. All PPE items in your current inventory should be
accurately described and accounted for in your application narrative.
AFG Program Office policy, based in part on NFPA 1851: Standard on Selection, Care,
and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire
Fighting, establishes that in order for PPE (to include SCBA) to be considered obsolete
the items must be a minimum of two NFPA cycles and 10 years of age or older from the
date they were manufactured.

49

This AFG Program policy of default obsolescence only applies to PPE (to include SCBA)
and does not apply to Vehicles, Equipment, Training, Wellness and Fitness, or
Modification to Facilities.
Requests for Ballistic Protective Equipment are now eligible as a new mission under
PPE. A set of BPE is comprised of one vest, one helmet, one triage bag, and one pair of
goggles.
Fire and EMS personnel should be properly trained and qualified in the use of the
ballistic protection equipment and active shooter/mass casualty incident tactics and
procedures. Interagency training and exercises are highly encouraged and should be fully
explained as part of the applicant’s narrative, if applicable.
Training for requested PPE
Applicants must certify that all grant-funded PPE will be used only by sufficiently trained
personnel. Failure to meet this requirement will result in ineligibility of request for funding.
If you are requesting training to support your requested PPE, it must be entered in the
Additional Funding section of PPE under Training.
NOTES:
• A PPE item is something that is worn by firefighter/nonaffiliated EMS personnel
for protection.
• AFG considers a complete set of Structural/Proximity PPE Turnout gear to be
comprised of these NFPA 1971 or 1976 compliant components: one pair pants,
one coat, one helmet, one hood, one pair boots, one pair gloves, and one pair
suspenders, one pair goggles. In those AHJs where additional PPE, like Personal
Safety/Rescue Bailout Systems are statutorily required, AFG will consider all
statutorily required items to be part of a complete PPE set.
• AFG considers a “complete” set of EMS PPE Turnout gear to be comprised of
these NFPA 1999 compliant components: one pair pants, one coat, one helmet,
one pair boots, one pair gloves, one pair suspenders, and one pair goggles.
• AFG considers a “complete” set of Wildland PPE Turnout gear to be comprised
of these NFPA 1977 compliant components: one pair pants, one coat, one
jumpsuit, one helmet, one pair boots, one pair gloves, one pair suspenders, one
pair goggles, one fire shelter, web gear, backpack, and canteen/hydration system.
NOTE: Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible for PPE activities that are not
specific or unique to structural/proximity firefighting, such as but not limited to,
NFPA1999: Standard on Protective Clothing for Emergency Medical Operations or
NFPA 1981: Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for
Emergency Services. Please see Nonaffiliated EMS – Additional Considerations for
Training.

50

Eligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Joint/Regional and State Fire Training
Academy PPE Activities include but are not limited to
•

•
•

•

PPE for structural, proximity or Wildland
firefighting American National Standards
Institute (ANSI)-approved retro-reflective
highway apparel
Training for requested PPE
Customized helmet shields

•

•

SCBAs, spare cylinders, and individual
face pieces
Nonaffiliated EMS PPE (coats, trousers,
and jumpsuits must meet the NFPA or
OSHA standards for blood borne
pathogens)
Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout Systems

Personal Protective Equipment List
Structural/Proximity
• Boots
• Coats
• Complete Set of Turnout Gear
• Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout System
• Gloves
• Suspenders
Respiratory

•
•
•
•
•
•

Goggles
Helmets
Hoods
Pants
Pass Devices
ANSI Traffic Vests

•
•
•

•
•
•

SCBA with Face Piece - with Extra
Cylinder
SCBA Spare Cylinders
Face Pieces

•
•

•

Shelters

•

PPE: Ballistic Protective Equipment (BPE, •
•
to include vest, helmet, and goggles)
•
Extrication Clothing/Rescue Clothing
Encapsulated Suites
Chemical/Biological Suits (Must conform
to NFPA 2012 edition)

Accountability Systems
Air-Line Unit
Respirators

Wildland
Jumpsuits/Coveralls
Web Gear/Backpacks/Canteens/Hydration
Systems
Specialized PPE

•
•
•

Wet and Dry Suits
Proximity Suits
Splash Suits

Ineligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire Training
Academy PPE Activities include but are not limited to
•
•

Three-quarter length rubber boots
Uniforms (formal/parade or station/duty)

•
•

51

Bomb disposal suits
Any communications equipment (e.g.,
radios and pagers) in the PPE section

Ineligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire Training
Academy PPE Activities include but are not limited to
•
•
•
•

and uniform items (hats, badges, etc.)
•
Rapid Intervention Packs (Equipment)
Flashlights (Equipment)
•
Gear Bags (Equipment)
Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout Systems
(PPE) for nonaffiliated EMS organizations

Structural or Proximity Firefighting gear
for nonaffiliated EMS organizations
Any decals, embroidery, logos, flags,
vehicle lettering or graphics that customize
awarded equipment

Reminder: When requesting training for PPE, enter the request under Other in Additional
Funding in the Request Details section of the application.
All of the following are considerations in prescoring and peer panelist review:
Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Joint/Regional, and State Fire Training Academy
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Priorities
•
•
•
•

Departments requesting new PPE for the first time
Departments replacing obsolete or damaged PPE
Note: In order for PPE to be considered obsolete, it must be a minimum of
two NFPA cycles and 10 years of age or older
Personal Safety/Rescue Bailout Systems
Members without gear (Member cannot be outfitted from current inventory)

•

Departments requesting PPE for a new risk

•

Worn but usable PPE that is compliant to the current edition of the NFPA
standard; worn but usable PPE that is compliant but not to the current edition
of the NFPA standard Replacing New PPE
New Mission
Departments requesting equipment to increase supplies

•
•

Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire Training Academy SelfContained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Priorities
Award will be based on number of seated riding positions in the department’s vehicle fleet and
age of existing SCBA, limited to one spare cylinder (unless justified otherwise in the Request
Details Narrative for the PPE Activity). New SCBA must have automatic-on or integrated
Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) devices, and be Chemical Biological Radiological
Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) equipment compliant to current edition of the NFPA 1981
standard.
Replacing SCBA compliant with NFPA 1981, 2002 Edition or prior
• Replacing obsolete or damaged SCBA
• In order for PPE to be considered obsolete, it must be a minimum of two
52

Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS, Regional, and State Fire Training Academy SelfContained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Priorities
NFPA cycles and 10 years of age or older
Replacing SCBA compliant with NFPA 1981, 2007 Edition (must be justified in the
PPE Narrative)
Replacing SCBA compliant with NFPA 1981, 2013 Edition (must be justified in the
PPE Narrative)
Additional Considerations
•
•

E.

Applicants will be required to provide the age of the PPE being replaced.
Applicants with the oldest PPE and/or trying to bring the department into 100 percent NFPA
compliance or the number of active members who will have compliant gear.

Wellness & Fitness
NOTE: The following applicant types are not eligible to apply under this activity:
• SFTA
• Joint/Regional
Overview
Wellness & Fitness activities are intended to strengthen First Responders so their mental,
physical, and emotional capabilities are resilient enough to withstand the demands of
emergency services response. In order to be eligible for FY 2014 AFG Funding in this
activity, applicants must offer, or plan to offer, all four of the following Priority 1 ( )
activities as discussed in the table below.

Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Wellness and Fitness Priorities
Priority 1 - Below are the four activities required to offer a complete Wellness & Fitness
Program.
• Initial medical exams
• Job-related immunization
• Annual medical and fitness evaluation
• Behavioral health
Priority 2 - You may only apply for Priority 2 Items if you offer or are requesting a
combination of the four activities required under Priority 1.
Departments that have some of the Priority 1 Programs in place must apply for funds to
implement the missing Priority 1 Programs before applying for funds for any additional
program or equipment. In addition, funded medical exams must meet current NFPA 1582, as

53

Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Wellness and Fitness Priorities
required by DHS Standards.
• Candidate physical ability evaluation
• Formal fitness and injury prevention program/equipment
• Injury/illness rehab
• IAFF or IAFC peer fitness trainer program(s)
• Formal fitness and injury prevention program/equipment
• IAFF or IAFC peer fitness trainer program, (including transportation, travel,
overtime/backfill, and reasonable expenses associated with member participation in
Train-the-Trainer for IAFC/IAFF and implementation of a peer fitness trainer
programs)
NOTE: Simultaneous requests for Priority 1 and Priority 2 activity(ies) will receive a lower
funding consideration than requests that complete the bundle of the four Priority 1 activities.
Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Eligible Wellness and Fitness activities include
but are not limited to
•

•

•

•
The four Priority 1 items, initial medical
exams, job-related immunization, annual
medical and fitness evaluation, and
behavioral health
Behavioral health programs to include, but
•
not limited to: Critical Incident Stress
Management Programs or Employee
Assistance Programs.
Transportation expenses related to a
member’s participation in offered
Wellness & Fitness activities

Contractual costs (non-hiring) for
personnel, physical fitness equipment
(including shipping charges and sales tax,
as applicable), and supplies directly related
to physical fitness activities
Minor interior alterations (requested under
Additional Funding and limited to $10,000
total expenditure) to support the awarded
Wellness and Fitness activities (e.g.,
removal/construction of a non-weight
bearing wall)

Reminder: When requesting training for any items in this section, enter the request under Other
in Additional Funding in the Request Details section.
Ineligible Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations Eligible Wellness and
Fitness activities include but are not limited to
•
•
•
•

Fitness club memberships for participants
or their families
Non-cash incentives (t-shirts or hats of
nominal value and vouchers to local
businesses or time-off)
Purchase of real estate
Cash incentives

•
•

54

Purchase of medical equipment that is not
used as part of the Wellness & Fitness
Program
Contractual services with anyone other
than medical professionals (e.g., health
care consultants, trainers, and nutritionists)
for programs such as smoking cessation

F.

Modifications to Fire Facilities
NOTE: The following applicant types and applications are not eligible under this
activity:
• Regional
• SFTA
• Micro Grants
Overview
FY 2014 AFG Grants may be used to modify fire stations and other facilities. New fire
station construction is not allowed.
Requested activities may only retrofit existing structures built prior to 01/01/2003 that do
not already have those AFG eligible safety features (being requested) in place. Structures
built pre 01/01/2003, that have been expanded/added on to, may be eligible for an award
to retrofit pre 01/01/2003 areas.
The January 1, 2003, benchmark for eligibility does not apply to minor interior
alterations (requested under Additional Funding and limited to $10,000 total expenditure)
to support Training, Equipment, or Wellness and Fitness activities (e.g.,
removal/construction of a non-weight bearing wall). However, the eligibility of certain
minor interior alterations does not release the grantee from their EHP responsibilities
resulting from those alterations.
In recognition of the risks posed by exposure to diesel fumes, Source Capture Exhaust
Extraction Systems (SCES) are an AFG High Priority for vehicle exhaust mitigation
under Modification to Facilities.
An SCES is a system where exhaust gases from a vehicle are captured directly, via a
conduit that attaches to/over the end of the vehicle’s exhaust system at the tailpipe. The
captured exhaust gases are expelled through the attached conduit via
mechanical/pneumatic means to the exterior of the building.
No modification may change the structures footprint or profile. If requesting multiple
items, such as a sprinkler system and exhaust system, the total funding for all projects
and activities cannot exceed $100,000 per fire station. Eligible projects under this activity
must have a direct effect on the health and safety of firefighters.
All of the following are considerations in prescoring and peer panelist review:

Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Modifications to Facilities Priorities include but
are not limited to:
Departments requesting direct, source capture exhaust systems, sprinkler systems,
or smoke/fire alarm notification systems for stations with sleeping quarters,
including maritime/air operations facilities, that are occupied 24/7

55

Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Modifications to Facilities Priorities include but
are not limited to:
Departments with or without sleeping quarters requesting Station Alerting Systems,
Air Quality Systems (AQSs), and/or emergency generators
Departments requesting funding from the high or medium funding priorities list
whose facilities are not occupied 24/7 and do not have sleeping quarters;
departments requesting funding for training facilities
Level of Occupancy
Occupancy Definitions
Full-time: coverage 24/7
Daily: part-time or selected coverage not on a regular basis
Occasionally: no schedule coverage, volunteers respond to the station
Additional Considerations
Additional considerations will be given for the age of the building; older facilities receive a
higher priority. If requesting multiple items in this activity, funding cannot exceed a maximum
of $100,000 per station.
Type of Facility
• Level of occupancy ( Full-time,
Daily,
Level of Occupancy
• Facilities with or without sleeping quarters
• Training facilities are a low priority

Occasionally)

Fire Department and Nonaffiliated EMS Ineligible Modifications to Facilities activities
include but are not limited to:
•
•

G.

Station maintenance
Resurfacing bay floors

•

Interior remodeling not pertaining to the
requested project(s)

Regional Program
A Regional Application is an opportunity for a fire department or a nonaffiliated EMS
organization to act as a “host” applicant and apply for large-scale projects on behalf of
itself and any number of other participating local AFG-eligible organizations. Eligible
Regional program activities are Vehicle Acquisition and Operations and Safety (but only
Training, Equipment, and PPE). Regional program activities should achieve cost
effectiveness, support regional efficiency and resilience, and benefit more than one local

56

jurisdiction (county, parish, town, township, city, or village) directly from the activities
implemented with the grant funds.
Any eligible fire department or a nonaffiliated EMS organization may act as a host
applicant and apply for large-scale projects on behalf of itself and any number of local
area AFG eligible organizations that will be participating partners in the award. Regional
projects should achieve greater cost effectiveness and regional efficiency and resilience.
NOTE: The following applicant types and application choices are not eligible under this
activity:
• SFTA
• Micro Grants
Overview
The host organization submits the Regional Application in its own name on behalf of
itself and at least one other identified and AFG eligible participating entity.
Regional Applicants have restricted acquisition activities under Operations and Safety
and may only apply for Training, Equipment, and PPE.
Regional Applicants may request all activities in the Vehicle Acquisition Program.
A Regional Applicant (the host organization) is not prevented from also submitting an
application on behalf of their own organization for any of the AFG Component Programs
(Vehicle Acquisition or Operations and Safety); however, duplicate requests for the same
activities, submitted both as an applicant and as a host applicant, are not allowed.
In an applicant’s application Narrative Statement, a Regional host must include a list of
all the AFG eligible participating organizations benefitting from a proposed Regional
project, and provide clear and detailed information on which activities are regional
specific versus those that are specific to the host department. Host organizations should
provide specific details in their application narrative, fully explaining the distribution of
any grant-funded acquisitions or grant-funded contracted services between the host and
the partner organizations.
In order to apply for a Regional project, the host organization must agree, if awarded, to
be responsible for all aspects of the grant. This includes, but is not limited to,
accountability for the assets and all reporting requirements in the Regional Application;
the host will be required to describe the characteristics of the entire region that will be
affected by the project(s).
All participants of a Regional Applicant must be compliant with AFG requirements,
including being current with past grants, closeouts, and other reporting requirements.
Upon notification by the AFG Program Office, the host agency shall not distribute grant
funded assets or provide grant funded contractual services to non-compliant partner
organizations. The host organization will be supplied the list, by name only, of delinquent

57

participants. The agencies in question will be notified individually of their specific
deficiency.
Regional host applicants and participating partner agencies must execute a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) or equivalent document, signed by all parties participating in
the award, prior to submitting an application under the Regional program activities. The
agreement should specify the individual and mutual responsibilities of the participating
partners, the participant’s level of involvement in the project(s), and the proposed
distribution of all grant funded assets. Successful Regional Applicants shall provide a
copy of the signed MOU at the time of award. Any entity named in the application as
benefiting from the award shall be a party the MOU or equivalent document.
The host organization never functions as a pass-through organization and the
participating partners are never sub-grantees; the host only distributes grant funded assets
or contracted services and never distributes grant funds to participating organizations.
Ownership or title of the distributed assets vest individually or mutually with the
participating organization(s) that agree to accept them, but the host organization will
always retain the responsibility for all programmatic and financial reporting for the
award.
In completing the Department Characteristics section of the AFG Application, the
Regional host applicant must include data that approximates the characteristics of all
eligible organizations participating in the grant.
In completing the Request Details and Narrative sections of the application, the host
applicant must list any non-AFG eligible third-party organizations that will benefit if the
requested activities are approved.

H.

Vehicle Acquisition
Overview
The purchase of a compliant vehicle using AFG Grant funds means the acquisition of
such a vehicle.
Leasing or installment plans to obtain a vehicle are not eligible acquisition activities
under the AFG Program and will not be reimbursed.
Beginning FY 2014, the acquisition of a Non-Transport Nonaffiliated EMS (Healthcare)
vehicle for Community Paramedic services is High priority.
Vehicle acquisition through a Regional Application has a limited and prioritized matrix.
See matrix below:

58

Regional Vehicle Priorities
Priority

Vehicle Type
•
•
•
•
•
•

Aerial
Mobile Command Vehicle
Air/Light Utility
Bariatric Ambulance
Rehab Unit
Non-Transport Nonaffiliated EMS (Healthcare) - Community Paramedic
•
•

Heavy Tech Rescue (including water rescue)
Highway safety unit

•
•
•

Hazmat
Specialized Foam truck
Hybrid (Fire/Nonaffiliated EMS)

NOTE: Pursuant to an AFG Program Office review, FEMA reserves the right to modify
or deny any vehicle request deemed excessive or without acceptable program cost
benefits. Furthermore, a complete vehicle inventory must be provided as part of the
vehicle application, to include vehicles that are leased or on long-term loan as well as any
vehicles that have been ordered or otherwise currently under contract for purchase or
lease by your organization but not yet in your possession.
In FY 2014, applicants that serve urban, suburban, or rural communities may apply for
more than one vehicle. Requests cannot exceed the financial cap based on population
listed in the application. If a department submits multiple types of applications, and more
than one of those requests are approved, the department will be held to the same financial
cap based on the population listed in the application. For additional information, see
Appendix A, II. Allocations and Restrictions of Available Grant Funds by Organization
Type.
• Applicants requesting fire vehicles that do not have drivers/operators trained to
NFPA 1002 or equivalent, and are not planning to have a training program in
place by the time the awarded vehicle(s) is delivered, will not receive any vehicle
award.
• Applicants requesting Nonaffiliated EMS vehicles that do not have
drivers/operators trained to the National Standard Emergency Vehicle Operator
Curriculum (EVOC) developed by the United States Department of
Transportation (DOT), or equivalent, and are not planning to have a training
program in place by the time the awarded vehicle(s) is delivered, will not receive
any vehicle award.
• All applicants may request funding for a driver training program in the Vehicle
Acquisition section but must add the request in the Additional Funding area in the
Request Details section of the Vehicle Application.
• All Driver training program(s) must be in place prior to the delivery of the
awarded vehicle(s) or the grantee will be considered to be in violation of the grant
agreement.
59

Performance Bond Strongly Recommended: Performance bonds are strongly
recommended but not required by the AFG Program. This is for any organization that is
going to advance its own funds to their vendor prior to receipt of the vehicle. The bond
may be obtained through the vendor or your bank. The concept behind this is to ensure
the applicant’s funds are not lost in the event of a vendor’s failure to perform, e.g., not
finishing or delivering the vehicle or going out of business.
Prepayment Bond Required: FY 2014 AFG Vehicle Awardees are required to obtain a
prepayment bond if the grantee plans to advance federal funds to their vendor. This is to
safeguard the federal funds against loss if the vendor goes out of business or fails to
deliver the vehicle. Prepayment bonds may be obtained through the vendor or your bank.
The cost of a Prepayment Bond is a reimbursable activity under an AFG Vehicle
Acquisition Award.
Penalty Clause: A contractual penalty clause is required for AFG Vehicle Acquisition
when a partial payment is anticipated and/or a Prepayment Bond has been secured. The
penalty clause must include a specific delivery date and vendor performance
requirements.
Non-delivery by the contract’s specified date, or other vendor nonperformance, will
require a penalty that is no less than $100 per day until such time that the vehicle,
compliant with the terms of the contract, has been accepted by the grantee.
A down payment for the purchase of a vehicle is allowable if required in the purchase
contract, but FEMA will only allow up to 25 percent of the federal share to be drawn for
this purpose.
No additional funds beyond the down payment will be provided in advance of the
delivery of the vehicle. Any costs over-and-above the 25 percent limit, such as the cost of
a chassis or any other fees or services, must be borne by the grantee or deferred until final
payment is drawn.
Additional federal funds may not be requested for any other periodic or progress vehicle
payments, including equipment acquisition for the awarded vehicle, except for the final
vehicle payment, which should not be requested until after the vehicle is received,
inspected, and accepted by the grantee.
NOTES:
• Vehicles purchased with AFG Funds must be compliant with NFPA 1901
(Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus) or NFPA 1906 (Standard for Wildland
Fire Apparatus).
• Used or refurbished apparatus are ineligible activities under Vehicle Acquisition.
• Converted vehicles not originally designed for firefighting are not eligible for
refurbishment.
• When requesting more than one vehicle, you will be asked to fill out a separate
line item and answer all the questions including a separate Narrative for each

60

vehicle. For example, if you are requesting to replace three ambulances, you must
fill out the age and vehicle identification number (VIN) of each vehicle being
replaced. You cannot use the same VIN in each line item.
• If the case(s) when an applicant is not replacing a vehicle but only changing the
service status of a vehicle(s), such as from first due to reserve, a VIN number is
still required for the Narrative and for the vehicle being reassigned.
IMPORTANT
AFG Vehicle Acquisition Awardees shall submit a copy of their vehicle purchase
contract as soon as possible to their Regional Fire Program Specialist, please visit
http://www.fema.gov/fireGrants-contact-information.
• You may scan document(s) into a PDF format and email them to your Regional
Fire Programs Specialist for inclusion in your grant file.
• If requested by the Program Office, please fax Vehicle documents to (866) 2740942. Include your organization’s name, grant number, and a point of contact
with a working phone number.
Submitting your vehicle purchase contract will assist in the programmatic monitoring of
your award and help ensure your programmatic compliance with the Improper Payments
Information Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-300) and the Improper Payments Eliminations
and Recovery Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-204). If you do not submit your vehicle
purchase contract, you will be unable to:
• Advance federal funds for partial vehicle payment or chassis payment; or,
• Submit an amendment requesting a Period of Performance extension for your
project.
Reminder: When requesting training for any items in this section, enter the request under
Other in Additional Funding in the Request Details section.
NOTE: Nonaffiliated EMS organizations are eligible for Vehicle acquisition activities
that are not specific or unique to structural/proximity firefighting. For more information,
please see Nonaffiliated EMS – Additional Considerations for Vehicle Acquisition.
Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS Organization, Regional, and State Fire Training
Academy
Eligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations, Regional, and State Fire
Training Academy Vehicle activities include but are not limited to
•
•
•

•
Cost of vehicle
Physicals to meet current NFPA
1582/US Department of Transportation
(DOT) 649 F
•
Cost of associated equipment that is
eligible under current NFPA
1901/1906

61

Driver/operator training programs that
meet applicable standards, current NFPA
1002 or Emergency Vehicle Operator
Curriculum (EVOC), or equivalent
Transportation to inspect a requested
vehicle during production (if justified in
the Vehicles Narrative)

Ineligible Fire Department, Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations, Joint/Regional, and State
Fire Training Academy Vehicle activities include but are not limited to
•
•
•

Leasing or installment purchase of any
grant funded vehicle
Aircraft, bulldozers, and constructionrelated equipment
Using the vehicle being awarded as
collateral for any financial loan

•
•
•

Vehicles contracted for or purchased prior
to end of established application period
Refurbished vehicles
Used vehicles

Example of vehicles types
• Pumper (an apparatus that carries a minimum of 300 gallons of water and has a
pump with the capacity to pump a minimum of 750 gallons per minute)
• Urban interface vehicles (Type I) pumper (300 gallons and 750 GPM)
• Ambulance (vehicle used for transporting patients)
• Tanker-Tender (an apparatus that has water capacity in excess of 1,000 gallons
and a pump with a pumping capacity of fewer than 750 gallons per minute)
Unsafe Vehicles
If applicants specify the vehicle(s) to be replaced are unsafe, they must certify that if
awarded, the unsafe vehicle to be replaced will be permanently removed from emergency
service response.
Permanently removed from emergency service response means the grantee cannot use the
vehicle being replaced for any emergency service response, nor can the grantee sell or
otherwise transfer title to any individual or emergency service response organization that
will use the unsafe vehicle for emergency service response.
A grantee who certifies it will remove an unsafe vehicle from service but then
sells/transfers the unsafe vehicle to another emergency service response organization, or
otherwise does not remove the unsafe vehicle from emergency service response, is
considered to be in violation of the grant agreement.
Acceptable dispositions of unsafe vehicles include farm, construction or nursery use, sale
to a non-emergency service response entity for refurbishment, scrap metal, salvage, or
foreign donation.
Nonaffiliated EMS Organizations – Additional Considerations for Vehicle Acquisition
All of the following are considerations in prescoring and peer panelist review:
Nonaffiliated EMS Vehicle Priorities
Ambulances or transport units to support nonaffiliated EMS functions are capped at

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Nonaffiliated EMS Vehicle Priorities
$150,000
Non-Transport Nonaffiliated EMS (Healthcare) - Community Paramedic
Non-transport (other than Community Paramedic) vehicles that do not transport a
patient
Eligible Fire Department, and State Fire Training Academy Vehicle activities include but
are not limited to the following Vehicle Priorities:
Priority

Urban Communities

Suburban Communities

Rural Communities

•
•
•
•
•

Pumper
Ambulance
Aerial
Rescue
Non-Transport
Nonaffiliated EMS
(Healthcare) Community
Paramedic

•
•
•
•
•
•

Pumper
Ambulance
Aerial
Tanker-Tender
Rescue
Non-Transport
Nonaffiliated EMS
(Healthcare) Community Paramedic

•
•
•
•
•
•

Pumper
Ambulance
Brush-Attack
Tanker-Tender
Aerial
Non-Transport
Nonaffiliated EMS
(Healthcare) Community
Paramedic

•
•
•
•

Command
Hazmat
Light/Air unit
Rehab

•
•
•
•
•

Hazmat command
Command
Light/Air unit
Brush-Attack
Rehab unit

•
•
•
•

Command
Hazmat
Rescue
Light/Air unit

•

Aircraft Rescue and
Firefighting Vehicle
(ARFF)
Brush-Attack
Foam truck
Fire boat
Tanker-Tender
Highway safety unit
Hybrid
(Fire/Nonaffiliated
EMS)

•
•
•
•
•

ARFF
Foam truck
Highway safety unit
Fire boat
Hybrid
(Fire/Nonaffiliated
EMS)

•
•
•
•
•
•

Foam Truck
Highway safety unit
ARFF
Rehab
Fire boat
Hybrid
(Fire/Nonaffiliated
EMS)

•
•
•
•
•
•

Compliance with Standards
•
•

New fire apparatus must be compliant with NFPA 1901 or 1906 for the year
ordered/manufactured.
Ambulances, NFPA1917, Edition 2013, or GSA Federal Standard KKK-A-1822F

63

Compliance with Standards
•

Applicants must certify that unsafe vehicles will be permanently removed from service if
awarded a grant. Acceptable uses of unsafe vehicles include farm, nursery, scrap metal,
salvage, construction, etc.

Additional Considerations (to include but not limited to)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Departments that have automatic aid agreements, mutual aid agreements, or both
Population and call volume of primary first due response area or region
Replacement of open cab/jump seat configurations
Age of the vehicle being replaced; older equipment receive higher consideration
Age of the newest vehicle in the department’s fleet that is like the vehicle to be replaced
Disclose vehicles on loan to the organization in the application narrative but not in the
organization’s inventory
Disclose damaged vehicles and out of service vehicles in the organization’s inventory
Average age of the fleet; older equipment within the same class
Converted vehicles not designed or intended for use in the fire service

Eligible Regional Vehicle activities for Fire Departments and Nonaffiliated EMS
organizations are limited to the following Vehicle Priorities for ALL Community Types:
•
•
•
•
•

Aerial
Air/Light
Bariatric Ambulance
Mobile Command
Rehab

•
•

Heavy Rescue
Highway Safety Unit

•
•

Hazmat
Specialized Foam Unit

64

APPENDIX C – Award Administration Information
Appendix C contains detailed information on AFG Award Administration. Reviewing this
information may help grantees in the programmatic and financial administration of their
award(s).

I.

Cost Sharing and Maintenance of Effort Requirements
A.

Cost Sharing
Cost Share Requirements Based on Population
In general, an eligible applicant seeking a grant to carry out an activity shall agree
to make available non-federal funds to carry out such activity in an amount equal
to and not less than 15 percent of the grant awarded, except for entities serving
small communities:
• When serving a jurisdiction more than 20,000 residents, but not more than
1,000,000 residents, the applicant shall agree to make available nonfederal funds in an amount equal to and not less than 10 percent of the
grant awarded.
• 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 and
not less than 5 percent of the grant awarded
• SFTA and Regional projects’ Cost Share will be based on the total
population of the State/territory, not the population of the host
organization.
All grantees should ensure that they are thoroughly familiar with FEMA’s
administration of cost sharing requirements identified above, as well as in
appropriate cost principles in the federal regulations applicable at the time a grant
is awarded to a grantee. http://www.fema.gov/frequently-asked-questions-0.
The grantee is not required to have its cost-share at the time of application nor at
the time of award. However, before a grant is awarded, FEMA will contact
potential awardees to determine whether the grantee has the funding in hand or if
the grantee has a viable plan to obtain the funding necessary to fulfill the cost
sharing requirement.
NOTE: The Administrator of FEMA may waive or reduce Cost Share
requirements in cases of demonstrated economic hardship. See Appendix C, I.
Cost Sharing and Maintenance of Effort Requirements, C. Economic Hardship
Waivers of Cost Share and Maintenance of Effort Requirements for the
Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grant
Programs.
Types of Contributions
1. Cash: Cost share match (cash or hard match) is the only allowable
grantee contribution for AFG component programs (Vehicle
65

Acquisition, Operations and Safety, and Regional), including nonfederal cash spent for project-related costs.
2. Trade-In Allowance/Credit: On a case by case basis, FEMA may
allow grantees already owning assets (equipment or vehicles) to use
the trade-in allowance/credit value of those assets as cash for the
purpose of meeting the Cost Share match obligation of their AFG
Award.
3. In-kind: In-kind Cost Share matches are not allowable for AFG. Inkind (soft) matches include but are not limited to the valuation of inkind services. In-kind is the value of something received or provided
that does not have a cost associated with it. For example, if an in-kind
match (other than cash payments) is permitted, then the value of
donated services could be used to comply with the match requirement.
Also, third party in-kind contributions may count toward satisfying
match requirements provided the grantee receiving the contributions
expends them as allowable costs in compliance with provisions listed
above.
4. Overmatch: A department may commit additional financial support
toward the project cost in addition to their required cost share
obligation as detailed in the FOA and required by law. Any stated
commitment by the applicant to provide additional financial support of
the project will be reflected in local share requirement in the offer of
award. Over matching is not permitted if the Micro Grant option was
selected.
For all other activities, there are no grantee restrictions on the type or amount of
local support. All overmatch information should be entered only under
Department Characteristics II of the application and not entered under
“Additional Funding.” FEMA will reflect an applicants’ commitment to
overmatch local funds as part of the offer of award.

B.

Maintenance of Effort
An applicant seeking an AFG Grant shall agree to maintain during the term of the
grant the applicant’s aggregate expenditures relating to the activities allowable
under this FOA at not less than 80 percent of the average amount of such
expenditures in the two fiscal years preceding the fiscal year in which the grant
amounts are received.
NOTE: The Administrator of FEMA may waive or reduce Maintenance of Effort
requirements in cases of demonstrated economic hardship (See Appendix C, I.
Cost Sharing and Maintenance of Effort Requirements, B. Maintenance of Effort).

C.

Economic Hardship Waivers of Cost Share and Maintenance of Effort
Requirements for the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and Fire
Prevention & Safety (FP&S) Grant Programs

66

In cases of demonstrated economic hardship, and upon the request of the grantee,
the Administrator may waive or reduce an AFG or FP&S Grantee’s cost share or
maintenance of effort requirement for certain grantees. 15 USC § 2229(k)(4)(A)
This policy applies to AFG per § 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control
Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended) (15 USC § 2229). For complete
requirements concerning these waivers, including a description of how a grantee
may demonstrate economic hardship and apply for a waiver, please refer to
FEMA Policy FP 207-088-01, dated April 8, 2014, at
http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1398109239435ec23997d8351382710896fa77d02bc7d/AFG+Economic+Hardship+Waiver+Polic
y.pdf.

II.

Other Allowable Costs
A.

Administrative Costs
Management and Administration
Applicants may apply for administrative costs if the costs are directly related to
the implementation of the program for which they are applying. Administrative
costs are identifiable costs directly associated with the implementation and
management of the grant.
No more than three percent of the federal share of AFG Funds awarded may be
retained by the grantee for management and administration (M&A) purposes
associated with the AFG Award.
If you are requesting administrative expenses, you must list the costs under the
“Other” category in the budget and explain the purpose for the administrative
costs in your Project Narrative. Administrative costs should be based on actual
expenses only, not a percentage of the overall grant; each expense must be
specific and detailed.
Examples of eligible administrative costs include shipping, office supplies, and
computers and software associated with the National Fire Incident Reporting
System (NFIRS) reporting requirements.
Grant funds may not be used for insurance, Internet service provider fees, or any
similar service fees.

B.

Indirect Costs
Indirect costs are allowable only if the applicant has an approved indirect cost rate
with the cognizant federal agency. A copy of the approved rate (a fully executed
agreement negotiated with the applicant’s cognizant federal agency) is required at
the time of application. Indirect costs will be evaluated as part of the application
for federal funds to determine if allowable and reasonable.

67

C.

Audit Costs
Certain recipients of federal funding must comply with the Single Audit Acts
Amendments of 1996 (31 USC §§ 7501-7507); 31 USC §§ 503, 1111; Executive
Order 8248; Executive Order 11541; and the federal regulations applicable at the
time a grant is awarded to a grantee (for further information on audit compliance,
see the full FOA, Section VI. Post-Selection and Pre-Award Guidelines).
Reasonable costs incurred for such an audit are an eligible expenditure and should
be included in the applicant’s proposed budget. For more information about OMB
Circulars, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars.
Audit costs are considered administrative expenditures and may be treated as a
direct cost or an allocated indirect cost, as determined in accordance with the
provisions of applicable OMB cost principles circulars or other applicable cost
principles or regulations.
If the AFG Grantee is the recipient of multiple federal funding sources and spends
in excess of $750,00,000 in their fiscal year, then only a pro rata share of the audit
cost(s) may be chargeable to their AFG Award.
Example: Total Audit Costs of $1,000.00:
During their fiscal year, an organization expends $150,000 from an AFG Award
and $600,000 from other federal sources for a total of $750,000.
The AFG pro rata share is ($150,000/$750,000 = 1/5 or twenty percent), of the
$1,000 total audit costs; so only $200 (twenty percent of $1,000) would be an
eligible A-133 cost that can be charged to the AFG Award.
AFG does not require any other audits; therefore, you cannot charge any audit
expenses that are not directly related to such an audit.

D.

Remodeling or Renovation Costs
Construction costs are not eligible under the AFG Grants. Construction includes
major alterations to a building that changes the profile or footprint of the
structure.
To support eligible activities, remodeling/renovations to an existing facility are
limited to minor interior alterations costing less than $10,000 and should be
requested under the AFG component program Operations and Safety activity,
Modification to Facilities.
In order to be eligible, renovations must be reasonable, justified, and essential to
the successful completion of the grant’s scope of work. Any request for
modifications to facilities may require additional information for an EHP Review.
Installation of fire suppression, fire alarms, vehicle exhaust/air quality, and
detection systems are allowable activities, are not considered renovations, and are
not subject to the cost limits identified above.

68

E.

Pre-award Costs
Generally, grantees cannot use grant funds to pay for products and services
contracted for or purchased prior to the effective date of the grant award.
• Fees for grant writers may be included as a pre-award expenditure. Fees
payable on a contingency basis are not an eligible expense (See Appendix
C, II. Other Allowable Costs, G, Grant Writer/Preparation Fees)
• The only costs or acquisitions that may be considered for pre-award are
those costs obligated after an application’s submission but prior to an offer
of award.
• An applicant must notify FEMA in writing and in advance of their intent
to spend local funds that will be requested as a pre-award expense. This
notification shall be sent via email to the AFG Help Desk
(FireGrants@fema.dhs.gov), so the request may be reviewed and entered
into their eGrants application file.
• A grantee may only request pre-award costs after an offer of award has
been made, via a Scope of Work Amendment to the AFG Program Office,
using the online eGrants management system.
• All pre-award costs will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Pre-award
costs are only permitted with the written approval of FEMA.
• Expenses incurred after the application deadline, but prior to award, may
be eligible for reimbursement if the expenses were justified, unavoidable,
consistent with the grant’s scope of work, and specifically approved in
writing by FEMA (Scope of Work Amendment) after an offer of award
has been made and accepted. Pre-award purchases made for the purpose of
convenience, to obtain more favorable pricing, or to replace equipment
that is still operational are not considered to be unavoidable and will not
be considered for reimbursement.
• Final approval will be given after all invoices and related procurement
documents have been reviewed by FEMA to ensure the obligation
occurred after the application submission, but prior to an offer of award,
and is justified, unavoidable, and consistent with the grant’s scope of
work.

F.

Pre-application Costs
Expenses, obligations, commitments, or contracts incurred or entered into prior to
the application opening are not eligible as a grant expense with the exception of
grant preparation costs.

G.

Grant Writer/Preparation Fees
Fees for grant writers may be included as a pre-award expenditure. Fees payable
on a contingency basis are not an eligible expense. For grant writer fees to be
eligible as a pre-award expenditure, the fees must be specifically identified and
listed in the Request Details section of the application. AFG only will consider
reimbursements for application preparation, not administration, up to but not more
than $1,500. Pursuant to 2 CFR Part 180, grantees may not use federal grant
funds to reimburse any entity, including a grant writer or preparer, if that entity is

69

a suspended or debarred party. Grantees must verify that the contractor is not
suspended or debarred from participating in specified federal procurement or
nonprocurement transactions pursuant to 2 CFR § 180.300.
By submitting the application, you are certifying all of the information contained
therein is true and an accurate reflection of your organization, and that regardless
of the applicant’s intent, the submission of information that is false or misleading
may result in actions by FEMA that include but are not limited to the submitted
application not being considered for award, an existing award being locked
pending investigation, or referral to the Office of the Inspector General.
Prior to submission, please review all work produced on your behalf by grant
writers or third parties for accuracy. In addition, the fees must have been paid
prior to any contact with grants management staff or an award (i.e., paid within 30
days of the end of the application period). Applicants may be required to provide
documentation to support these pre-award expenditures. A copy of the cancelled
check and bank statement shall be provided upon request. Failure to provide the
requested documentation may result in the grant writer fee being deemed
ineligible and the grant reduced accordingly.
AFG strongly recommends that the applicant keeps a record of their
organization’s username and password.
NOTE: AFG requires that all grant writer or preparer information must be
entered into the Overview section of the AFG Application, whether that person,
entity or agent is compensated or not.
H.

Prepayments
A grantee may not use grant funds to prepay for any products or services in
advance of delivery of the products or rendering of services. A down payment for
the purchase of a vehicle is allowable if required in the purchase contract, but
FEMA will only allow up to 25 percent of the federal share to be drawn for this
purpose.
No additional funds beyond the down payment will be provided in advance of the
delivery of the vehicle. Any costs over-and-above the 25 percent limit, such as the
cost of a chassis or any other fees or services, must be borne by the grantee or
deferred until final payment is drawn.
Federal funds may not be used for any other periodic, installment, or progress
payments except the final payment, which should not be requested until after the
vehicle is received, inspected, and accepted by the grantee.
See also, Performance Bond and Prepayment Bond information (Appendix B, X.
AFG Program Priorities and Eligible/Ineligible Activities, H. Vehicle
Acquisition).

70

I.

Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Compliance
As a federal agency, FEMA is required to consider the effects of its actions on the
environment and/or historic properties to ensure that all activities and programs
funded by the agency, including grant-funded projects, comply with federal EHP
regulations, laws, and Executive Orders, as applicable.
The Grants Program Directorate/EHP Branch will no longer be conducting EHP
Reviews on projects that have already been initiated or completed, and such
projects that are received for review will be recommended to not be funded,
unless the project can be modified to eliminate those parts/elements that have
already been completed/initiated.
FEMA Policy 108.024.4 (linked below) provides procedural guidelines for
completing environmental reviews as required by the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) in cases where FEMA-funded projects require initiation or
action prior to the completion of the environmental review.
Please see FEMA Environmental Planning and Historical Preservation Policy
108.024.4, dated December 18, 2013, at http://www.fema.gov/media-librarydata/1388411752234-6ddb79121951a68e9ba036d2569aa488/18Dec13NoNEPAReview.pdf.
NOTE: It is FEMA policy that actions initiated and/or completed without
fulfilling the specific documentation and procedural requirements of NEPA may
not be considered for funding.
EHP Assessment(s)/plan(s) are chargeable to the AFG Award but must be
requested as part of the application.
Grantees must comply with all applicable EHP laws, regulations, and Executive
Orders (EOs) in order to draw down FY 2014 AFG Grant funds. Any project with
the potential to impact natural resources or historic properties cannot be initiated
until FEMA has completed the required FEMA EHP Review. Grantees
implementing projects prior to receiving EHP Approval from FEMA risk deobligation of funds.
Furthermore, for those proposed renovation projects that are part of larger projects
funded from a non-FEMA source (such as an emergency operation center that is
part of a larger proposed public safety complex), a FEMA EHP Review must be
completed before the larger project is initiated. For these types of projects,
grantees must complete the FEMA EHP Screening Form (OMB Number 16600115/FEMA Form 024-0-01) and submit it with all supporting documentation to
the GPD EHP Team at GPDEHPInfo@fema.gov.

71

Grantees should submit the FEMA EHP Screening Form for each project as soon
as possible upon receiving the grant award. Refer to IBs 329, 345, and 356
located at http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/bulletins/index.shtm.
When requesting funding for FEMA EHP Review, enter the funding request
under Other in Additional Funding in the Request Details.
The following activities would not require the submission of the FEMA EHP
Screening Form:
• Planning and development of policies or processes
• Management, administrative, or personnel actions
• Classroom-based training
• Acquisition of mobile and portable equipment (not involving installation)
on or in a building
AFG Projects that involve the installation of equipment not specifically excluded
from a FEMA EHP Review per the GPD Programmatic Environmental
Assessment (PEA), ground-disturbing activities, or modification/renovation of
existing buildings or structures must undergo a FEMA EHP Review.
The Environmental and Historic Preservation Screening Form is designed to
initiate and facilitate the EHP Compliance Review for your FEMA preparedness
grant-funded project(s). This form may be found at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/assets/documents/90195.
All Modifications to Facility activities, and any renovation to facilities that would
qualify as a modification to facility, that support activities under Training,
Equipment, PPE, or Wellness and Fitness will require an EHP Review, to include
but not limited to the installation of:
• air compressor/fill station/cascade system (Fixed) for filling SCBA
• air quality systems
• alarm/alerting systems
• antennas
• generators (fixed)
• sprinklers
• vehicle exhaust systems (fixed)
• washer/dryer/extractors
The EHP Screening Form and instructions are available at
http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/90195.
AFG Grantees requiring an EHP Review shall:
• Complete the EHP Screening Form; and
• Submit the form to the EHP Office at GPDEHPInfo@dhs.gov.

72

The grantee should not initiate any facility modification projects or activities that
require EHP Review and approval. If a project is initiated, the project will be
noncompliant and will not be eligible for FEMA funding.
No modification project can proceed, with the exception of project planning, prior
to formal FEMA approval.
Funds for activities that do not require an EHP Review may be requested by the
grantee.
Grantees are encouraged to initiate contact with their Regional Fire Program
Specialists (RFPS). For a complete list of RFPSs please visit
http://www.fema.gov/fireGrants-contact-information.
For additional information on FEMA’s EHP Requirements, applicants should
refer to:
Information Bulletin 329, Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation
Requirements for Grants, available at
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/bulletins/info329.pdf
Information Bulletin 345, Programmatic Environmental Assessment, available
at http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/bulletins/info345.pdf
Information Bulletin 356, Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation
(EHP) Screening Form, available at
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/bulletins/info356.pdf
Environmental and Historic Preservation Screening Form available at
http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/90195
Environmental Planning and Historical Preservation Policy 108.024.4, dated
December 18, 2013, at http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/13884117522346ddb79121951a68e9ba036d2569aa488/18Dec13-NoNEPAReview.pdf
J.

Taxes, Fees, Levies, and Assessments
Any legally non-avoidable federal, state, or local tax; fee; levy; or assessment
costs directly related to any eligible AFG Program acquisition activity may be
charged to the appropriate AFG Award. These charges shall be identified and
enumerated in the AFG Application’s Narrative and the Request Details section
of the acquisition activity.
NOTE: Any avoidable costs that result from the action or inaction of a grantee
(or grantee’s agent) or that prevent that grantee from enjoying any lawful
exemption or reduction of any federal/state/local tax, fee, levy, or assessment

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directly related to any eligible AFG Program acquisition activity will not be
chargeable to any AFG Award.
Example: Governmental entities and Public Safety Agencies are exempt from
some Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fees*, but only if the eligible
organization submits an exemption or waiver request to the FCC.
*Government entities are not required to pay FCC regulatory fees. Non-profit
entities (exempt under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code) also may be
exempt. The FCC requires that any entity claiming exempt status submit, or have
on file with the FCC, a valid IRS Determination Letter documenting its nonprofit
status or certification from a governmental authority attesting to its exempt status.
For more information, please visit http://www.fcc.gov/ or
http://www.fcc.gov/document/regulatory-fee-exemption-fact-sheet[E1].

III.

Excess Funds
Overview
After completing performance on their grant award, to include the entire awarded scope
of work, some grantees may have funds remaining in their Vehicle Acquisition,
Operations and Safety, or Regional Awards.
Excess funds are cumulative and may result from any combination of under-budget
acquisition activities or competitive procurement processes.
These cost-shared “excess funds” may be utilized to address an organization’s local needs
or to mitigate identified capability gaps. FEMA and AFG expect excess funds to be
liquidated concurrent with an award’s period of performance to address a known or
critical need.
Excess Funds Restrictions
Excess funds for FY 2014 will be capped at $10,000 and will require no amendment,
except when the use of excess funds for an eligible activity would normally require an
EHP Review.
• The opportunity for excess funds is limited when the original uncompleted
Scope of Work is changed via Amendment.
Example: An award has a single activity (the acquisition of 50 SCBAs) which
is reduced via Amendment (to 49 SCBAs). The federal participation and the
grantee cost obligation are both reduced and any remaining unliquidated
federal participation resulting from the reduction in quantity is not allowable
as Excess funds.
• Excess funds cannot be used for grant writer/preparer fees.
• Excess Funds may only be used for allowable activities identified in this
FOA.

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Fire Prevention and Safety
No excess funds may be used to fund activities that are unique to the Fire Prevention and
Safety (FP&S) Grant Program.

IV.

Procurement Integrity
Through audits conducted by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector
General (OIG) and the AFG Program Office grant monitoring, findings have shown that
some AFG Recipients have not fully adhered to the proper procurement requirements
when spending grant funds. Anything less than full compliance with federal procurement
policies jeopardizes the integrity of the grant as well as the grant program. Below, we
highlight the federal procurement requirements for fire department, SFTAs, and
nonaffiliated EMS organization grantees when procuring goods and services with federal
grant funds. DHS will include a review of grantees’ procurement practices as part of the
normal monitoring activities. All procurement activity must be conducted in accordance
with applicable federal regulations in effect at the time a grant is awarded to a grantee.
Competition: All procurement transactions shall be conducted in a manner that:
• Provides open and free competition
• Promotes competition and ensures advantageous pricing
NOTE: In addition to following applicable federal regulations in effect at the time a
grant is awarded to a grantee, grantees must also follow their own written procurement
procedures as well as all applicable state and local laws and regulations.
NOTE: AFG will consider acquisitions by a grantee who has formally adopted internal
or governing polices and authorizes acquisitions through prequalified lists of persons,
firms, or products which are used in acquiring goods and services, e.g., Government
Services Administration (GSA) schedule or co-operative or group purchasing, as having
satisfied AFG Program requirements for competition, so long as those prequalified lists
are current and include qualified sources to ensure maximum open and free competition.
Also, the grantee must not preclude potential bidders from qualifying during the
solicitation period. AFG will consider existing previously bid or state contracts (“tag
along” contracts) to satisfy federal requirements for competition so long as they also
confirm to the applicable federal procurement regulations in effect at the time the grant is
awarded.
NOTE: Grantees who fail to adhere to their own procurement policy, or otherwise fail to
fully and openly compete any procurement involving federal funds, may find that their
expenditures questioned and subsequently disallowed.
NOTE: To the greatest extent possible, the AFG Program recommends that the use of
federal grant funds be used for the purchase of goods and services manufactured,
assembled, and distributed in the United States.

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NOTE: Grantees must provide written notification to FEMA of their intent to utilize a
non-competitive procurement process for the acquisition of AFG-funded products or
services. Examples of non-competitive procurements include, but are not limited to, the
use of sole source procurements and specifying products or services by brand name.
Documentation
At a minimum, grantees are required to maintain and retain the following:
• Backup documentation, such as bids and quotes
• Cost/price analyses on file for review by federal personnel
• Other documents required by federal regulations applicable at the time a grant is
awarded to a grantee
The required documentation for federally funded purchases should include the following:
• Specifications
• Solicitations
• Competitive quotes or proposals
• Basis for selection decisions
• Purchase orders
• Contracts
• Invoices
• Cancelled checks
NOTE: Grantees who fail to fully document their purchases may find their expenditures
questioned and subsequently disallowed.
Specifications: When creating your bid specifications, and prior to being sent to the
prospective bidders, you should ensure the following:
• Bids and specifications are not proprietary to any one product or manufacturer.
• Applicable federal regulations in place at the time a grant is awarded are

followed.

• In-state or local geographical preferences are not imposed in the evaluation of
bids or proposals.
• Product information is obtained from vendors in order to be more informed about
the items they plan to purchase.
• Specifications obtained from vendors for any solicitation with federal grant funds
are not used if the specifications would be found to be restrictive.
NOTE: Vendors and manufacturers may provide product and technical information to
grantees for consideration. The applicants may use this information during the grantees’
product evaluation and drafting of solicitation specifications. However, vendors and
manufacturers that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, and
invitations for bids or requests for proposals must be excluded from competing for such
procurements.

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Grantees may not use the vehicle(s) being awarded as collateral for any type of financial
loan(s). Any grantee activity that encumbers or clouds the title of an awarded vehicle
may result in actions:
• By FEMA or other federal agencies to modify or revoke the award
• That may include federal actions to claim or seize awarded vehicle
• Of Debarment and Suspension*
* Executive Orders 12549 and 12689 provide protection from fraud, waste, and abuse by
debarring or suspending those persons deemed irresponsible in their dealings with the
Federal Government.
Personal and Organizational Conflicts of Interest
The grantee must adhere to standards of conduct and avoid conflicts of interest when
procuring goods or services with federal grant funds in accordance with applicable
federal regulations in effect at the time a grant is awarded to a grantee.
The grantee must maintain written standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and
governing the performance of its employees engaged in the selection, award and
administration of contracts. No employee, officer, or agent must participate in the
selection, award, or administration of a contract supported by a federal award if he or she
has a real or apparent Conflict of Interests. Such Conflicts of interests would arise when
the employee, officer, or agent, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her
partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ any of the parties
indicated herein, has a financial or other interest in or a tangible personal benefit from a
firm considered for a contract. The officers, employees, and agents of the non-federal
entity must neither solicit nor accept gratuities, favors, or anything of monetary value
from contractors or parties to subcontracts. However, non-federal entities may set
standards for situations in which the financial interest is not substantial or the gift is an
unsolicited item of nominal value. The standards of conduct must provide for disciplinary
actions to be applied for violations of such standards by officers, employees, or agents of
the grantee.
NOTE: For the purposes of this program, FEMA considers volunteers of an organization
and grant writers to be employees, officers, and/or agents of the grantee. As such, no
volunteer or member of an organization or anyone involved in the application for funding
can participate in, or benefit from, the procurement if federal funds are involved.
Grantees that purchase items with grant funds from vendors who employ any of their
volunteers/members will have to document how they avoided a Conflict of Interests
during the procurement process (i.e., specific details regarding how the
members/volunteers removed themselves or how they were prevented from participating
in the process). Grantees may be required to provide this documentation upon request.
Grantees who fail to fully document their purchases may find their expenditures
questioned and subsequently disallowed. Remember that FEMA reserves the right to
request and review any and all bids/spec prior to purchase. Grantees may be subject to an
audit after award.

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NOTE: Help FEMA prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
If you have information about instances of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement
involving FEMA programs or operations, you should contact the DHS OIG Hotline at
(800) 323-8603, by fax at (202) 254-4297, or e-mail DHSOIGHOTLlNE@dhs.gov.

V.

Notice of Award
Upon approval of an application, the award will be made in the form of a grant. The date
the approval of award is entered in the system is the “award date.” For the AFG
Notification of Award, approval is made through an automatic e-mail from the eGrants
system to the grantee point of contact listed in the initial application. Once an award has
been approved and recorded in the system, a notice is sent to the authorized grant
official. Follow the directions in the notification to accept your award documents. The
authorized grant official should carefully read the award package for instructions on
administering the grant and to learn more about the terms and conditions associated with
responsibilities under federal awards.

VI.

Amendments
AFG Award amendments may be approved, on a case-by-case basis, for the following
reasons:
• Period of Performance (extension request/reopen award to complete original
scope of work)
• Scope of Work (activity/mission changes, retroactive approval [pre-award],
closeout issues, some excess funds requests, requests for economic hardship Cost
Share waiver, and requests for maintenance of expenditure waivers)
• Cost over/under run (adding funds to award/non-closeout deobligation* of funds)
Amendments will only be considered when submitted via the online eGrants award
management system. These requests must contain specific and compelling justifications
for the requested change.
AFG strongly encourages the timely expenditure of grant funds by grantees to be
consistent with the goals and objectives outlined in AFG Programs.
*A grantee may deobligate (return) unused funds (those remaining funds drawn down via
payment request and/or remaining award funding that was never requested) to DHS prior
to the end of an award’s Period of Performance. To exercise this option, a grantee must
submit a cost over/under run Amendment via the eGrants system and state in their
amendment that the unliquidated funds (funds to be returned) are not necessary for the
fulfillment or success of the grant’s obligations or mission. The grantee must also
indicate that it is understood that the returned funds will be deobligated and unavailable
for any future award expenses. Deobligation of funds will decrease the federal portion of
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the grant and the amount of the grantee’s Cost Share obligation. The AFG Program
Office will confirm deobligation amendments with all points of contact; after
confirmation of the grantee’s intent to deobligate, the Program Office will hold the
approved deobligation request for 14 calendar days as a period for grantee
reconsideration before processing the deobligation request.
To return grant funding that has been drawn down but is no longer required, the grantee
must complete and attach the Return of Funds to FEMA form to any remittance (mailing
instructions are on the form). The form is available at
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=7080.

VII. No Sub-Grants Under AFG
AFG Programs do not allow for sub-grantees or sub-recipients. All activities of the AFG
Award recipients supporting the Scope of Work shall only be on a contractual basis.

VIII. CFO Authority for Financial Assistance and Oversight
Please see http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cfo-financial-management-policymanual.pdf.
The grant recipient must, in addition to the assurances made as part of the application,
comply with all applicable statutes, regulations, executive orders, OMB Circulars, terms
and conditions of the award, and the approved application. A non-exclusive list of
requirements commonly applicable to DHS Grants include the following:
A.

Financial Assistance Award Standard Terms and Conditions
DHS requires standard terms and conditions approved by the Division of
Financial Assistance Policy and Oversight (FAPO) to be applied to all
financial assistance awards.
For the complete listing of DHS Standard Administrative Terms and
Conditions, please contact the AFG Help Desk at (866) 274-0960 or by
email at firegrants@fema.gov.

B.

Administrative Requirements
Please reference 2 CFR Part 25 – Universal Identifier and Central
Contractor Registration, Subpart B-Policy.

C.

Audit Requirements and other Assessments
The recipient must comply with the following laws that were enacted to
ensure the correct use of federal funds and to avoid improper or erroneous
payments:
• Audit Requirements and other Assessments Improper Payments
Information Act (IPIA) of 2002, as amended (Public Law 107-300)
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•

IX.

Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010
(IPERA) (P.L. 111-204)

Payments/Drawdown/Rebates
AFG Payment/Drawdown Requests are generated using the eGrants system.
AFG Payment/Drawdown Requests from state or local government entities will be
governed by applicable federal regulations in effect at the time a grant is awarded to the
grantee and may be either advances or reimbursements
Grantees should not expend funds or request drawdowns until all special conditions listed
on the grant award document have been met and request for payment in the eGrants
system has been approved.
Grant recipients should draw down funds based upon immediate disbursement
requirements; however, FEMA strongly encourages recipients to draw down funds as
close to disbursement or expenditure as possible to avoid accruing interest.
A. Advances: Grantees shall be paid in advance, provided they maintain or
demonstrate the willingness and ability to maintain procedures to minimize the
time elapsing between the transfer of the funds and their disbursement by the
grantee.
Although advance drawdown requests are permissible, grantees remain subject
to applicable federal law in effect at the time a grant is awarded to the grantee
governing interest requirements, including the Cash Management Improvement
Act (CMIA) and its implementing regulations at 31 CFR Part 205. Interest
under CMIA will accrue from the time federal funds are credited to a grantee’s
account until the time the grantee pays out the funds for program purposes.
Grantees must follow applicable federal regulations governing interest earned
on payment advances in effect at the time a grant is awarded to the grantee.
For the rate to use in calculating interest, please visit Treasury Current Value
rate at http://www.fms.treas.gov/cvfr/index.html.
B. Reimbursement: Reimbursement of the grantee is the preferred method when
the requirements to be paid in advance, per applicable federal regulations in
effect at the time a grant is awarded to the grantee, cannot be met. In
accordance with US Dept. of Treasury regulations at 31 CFR Part 205, the
recipient shall maintain procedures to minimize the time elapsing between the
transfer of funds and the disbursement of said funds.

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C. Payment Requests During Closeout: For 90 days after the expiration of the
period of performance, during an award’s closeout reconciliation, a grantee may
only submit reimbursement payment requests.
Reimbursement payment requests shall only be for obligations that were
encumbered within the active period of performance of the award.
The grantee’s request should contain clear and specific information certifying
that the liquidation of federal funds is reimbursement for an encumbrance or
obligation that occurred within the active period of performance; AFG may
request documentation support the reimbursement for review.
D. Rebates: Grantees shall disburse program income, rebates, refunds, contract
settlements, audit recoveries, and interest earned on such funds before
requesting additional cash payments, in accordance with applicable federal
regulations in effect at the time a grant is awarded to a grantee.
The reduction of federal financial participation via rebates/refunds may generate
excess funds for the grantee, if the grantee had already obligated their Cost
Share match based upon the original award figures.
If the grantee had already obligated their original Cost Share prior to the rebate,
then the grantee may have minimum excess funds equal to the difference
between the original Cost Share less the rebate adjusted Cost Share.

X.

Equipment Marking

Awardees may consider marking equipment as "Purchased with funds provided by the US
Department of Homeland Security” in order to facilitate their own audit processes, as well as
federal audits and monitoring visits, which may result from receiving federal funding.

XI.

Extensions to the Grant Period of Performance
Extensions to the initial period of performance identified in the award will only be
considered through formal requests, via the eGrants award management system, and must
contain specific and compelling justifications as to why an extension is required. All
extension requests must address the following:
1. Grant Program, Fiscal Year, and award number
2. Reason for delay—this must include details of the legal, policy, or operational
challenges being experienced that prevent the final outlay of awarded funds by the
applicable deadline
3. Current status of the activity/activities
4. Approved period of performance termination date and new project completion
date

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5.
6.
7.
8.

Amount of funds drawn down to date
Remaining available funds, both federal and non-federal
Budget outlining how remaining federal and non-federal funds will be expended
Plan for completion, including milestones and timeframes for achieving each
milestone and the position/person responsible for implementing the plan for
completion
9. Certification that the activity/activities will be completed within the extended
period of performance without any modification to the original Statement of
Work approved by FEMA
An award’s period of performance must be active for a grantee to submit a proposed
extension request to FEMA.
To be eligible for consideration, requests must be submitted via the eGrants award
management system. Requests should be submitted no earlier than 120 days but no later
than 60 days prior to the end of the award’s period of performance.
In accordance with GPD policy, extensions are typically granted for no more than a sixmonth time period. Extension requests will be granted only due to compelling legal,
policy, or operational challenges.
• Only formal POP extension requests, submitted to FEMA as an Amendment,
via AFG’s online eGrants award management system will be considered.
• Extension requests should be submitted prior to the expiration of the
awardee’s current POP but no earlier than 60 days prior to the end of that
POP.
• Extension requests shall contain specific, detailed timelines and compelling
justification as to why an extension is required; requests are considered on a
case-by-case basis.
• Agencies should request extensions sparingly and only under exceptional
circumstances. Approval is not guaranteed.
• The review process can take up to 30 days or longer. This review period
should be factored into the timing of when to submit a request for an
extension.
For example, grantees may request an extension to the deadlines outlined above for
discretionary grant funds when not adjusting the timeline for spending would constitute a
verifiable legal breach of contract by the grantee with vendors or sub-recipients; or where
a specific statute or regulation mandates an environmental review that cannot be
completed within this timeframe; or where other exceptional circumstances warrant a
discrete waiver.

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XII. Disposition of Grant Funded Equipment/Vehicles
A grantee must use, manage, and dispose of AFG-funded equipment in accordance with
applicable federal regulations in effect at the time a grant is awarded to a grantee. The
AFG Program Office strongly recommends contacting your Regional Fire Program
Specialist or the AFG Helpdesk prior to the disposition of AFG-funded Equipment or
Vehicles.

83