Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, 13552-13558 [E8-5039]

Agencies

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 50 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13552-13558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5039]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency


Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Guidance.

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SUMMARY: This Notice provides guidelines that describe the application 
process for grants and the criteria for awarding grants in the 2008 
Assistance to Firefighters Grant program year, as well as an 
explanation for any differences with the guidelines recommended by 
representatives of the Nation's fire service leadership during the 
annual Criteria Development meeting. The program makes grants directly 
to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services 
organizations for the purpose of enhancing first-responders' abilities 
to protect the health and safety of the public as well as that of 
first-responder personnel facing fire and fire-related hazards. In 
addition, the authorizing statute requires that a minimum of 5 percent 
of appropriated funds be expended for fire prevention and safety 
grants, which are also made directly to local fire departments and to 
local, regional, State or national entities recognized for their 
expertise in the field of fire prevention and firefighter safety 
research and development.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2229, 2229a.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Cowan, Director, Assistance to 
Firefighters Program Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 
FEMA: 5th Floor Suites AFG--TechWorld Building, SW., Washington, DC 
20472.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Assistance to 
Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program is to provide

[[Page 13553]]

grants directly to fire departments and nonaffiliated Emergency Medical 
Services (EMS) organizations to enhance their ability to protect the 
health and safety of the public, as well as that of first-responder 
personnel, with respect to fire and fire-related hazards.

Appropriations

    For fiscal year 2008, Congress appropriated $560,000,000 to carry 
out the activities of the AFG Program. The Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) is authorized to use up to $28,000,000 for 
administration of the AFG program (5 percent of the appropriated 
amount). In addition, DHS must set aside no less than $28,000,000 of 
the funds (5 percent of the appropriation) for the Fire Prevention and 
Safety Grants (FP&S). However, for fiscal year 2008, DHS will award 
$35,000,000 for FP&S. Under FP&S, DHS may make grants to, or enter into 
contracts or cooperative agreements with, national, State, local or 
community organizations or agencies, including fire departments, for 
the purpose of carrying out fire prevention grants and firefighter 
safety research and development grants.
    The remaining $497,000,000 will be used for competitive grants to 
fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations for equipment, 
training and first responders' safety. Within the portion of funding 
available for these competitive grants, DHS must assure that no less 
than 3.5 percent of the appropriation, or $19,600,000, is awarded for 
EMS equipment and training. However, awards to nonaffiliated EMS 
organizations are limited to no more than 2 percent of the 
appropriation or $11,200,000. Therefore, at least the balance of the 
requisite awards for EMS equipment and training must go to fire 
departments.

Background

    DHS awards the grants on a competitive basis to the applicants that 
best address the AFG program's priorities and provide the most 
compelling justification. Applicants whose requests best address the 
program's priorities will be reviewed by a panel composed of fire 
service personnel. The panel will review the narrative and evaluate the 
application in four different areas: (1) The clarity of the proposed 
project description, (2) the organization's financial need, (3) the 
benefit to be derived from the proposed project relative to the cost, 
and (4) the extent to which the grant would enhance the applicant's 
daily operations and/or how the grant would positively impact the 
applicant's ability to protect life and property.
    The AFG program for 2008 generally mirrors previous years' AFG 
programs including changes made in 2007. Those changes included the 
removal of the restriction regarding the number of vehicles that an 
applicant may request in a single application; the provision to allow 
organizations that protect urban or suburban communities to apply for 
multiple vehicles (with a limit of one vehicle per station); and an 
allowance for applicants to submit as many as three separate 
applications: a vehicle application, an application for operations and 
safety, and an application for a ``regional project.'' A ``regional 
project,'' generally, is a project undertaken by an applicant to 
provide services and support to a number of other regional 
participants, such as training for multiple mutual-aid jurisdictions. 
Regional applications will be required to reflect the general 
characteristics of the entire represented region. The population 
covered by the regional project will affect the amount of required 
local contribution to the project, i.e. the cost share required for the 
project.
    The 2008 program will again segregate the FP&S program from the 
AFG. DHS will have a separate application period devoted solely to FP&S 
tentatively scheduled to occur in the Fall of 2008. The AFG Web site 
https://www.firegrantsupport.com will provide updated information on 
this program.
    Congress has enacted statutory limits to the amount of funding that 
a grantee may receive from the AFG program in any fiscal year (15 
U.S.C. 2229(b)(10)). These limits are based on population served. A 
grantee that serves a jurisdiction with 500,000 people or less may not 
receive grant funding in excess of $1,000,000 in any fiscal year. A 
grantee that serves a jurisdiction with more than 500,000 but not more 
than 1,000,000 people may not receive grants in excess of $1,750,000 in 
any fiscal year. A grantee that serves a jurisdiction with more than 
1,000,000 people may not receive grants in excess of $2,750,000 in any 
fiscal year. DHS may waive these established limits to any grantee 
serving a jurisdiction of 1,000,000 people or less if DHS determines 
that extraordinary need for assistance warrants the waiver. No grantee, 
under any circumstance, may receive ``more than the lesser of 
$2,750,000 or .5 percent [one-half of 1 percent] of the funds 
appropriated under this section for a single fiscal year.''
    Grantees must share in the costs of the projects funded under this 
grant program (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)(6)). Fire departments and 
nonaffiliated EMS organizations that serve populations of less than 
20,000 must match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal 
funds equal to 5 percent of the total project cost. Fire departments 
and nonaffiliated EMS organizations serving areas with a population 
between 20,000 and 50,000, inclusive, must match the Federal grant 
funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 10 percent of the 
total project cost. Fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS 
organizations that serve populations of over 50,000 must match the 
Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 20 
percent of the total project costs. All non-Federal funds must be in 
cash, i.e., in-kind contributions are not eligible. The only waiver 
granted for this requirement will be for applicants located in Insular 
Areas as provided for in 48 U.S.C. 1469a.
    The law imposes additional requirements on ensuring a distribution 
of grant funds among career, volunteer, and combination (volunteer and 
career personnel) fire departments, and among urban, suburban and rural 
communities. More specifically with respect to department types, DHS 
must ensure that all-volunteer or combination fire departments receive 
a portion of the total grant funding that is not less than the 
proportion of the United States population that those departments 
protect (15 U.S.C. 2229(b)(11)). There is no corresponding minimum for 
career departments. Therefore, subject to the other statutory 
limitations on DHS ability to award funds, DHS will ensure that, for 
the 2008 program year, no less than 33 percent of the funding available 
for grants will be awarded to combination departments, and no less than 
22 percent will be awarded to all-volunteer departments. If, and only 
if, other statutory limitations inhibit DHS ability to ensure this 
distribution of funding, DHS will ensure that the aggregate combined 
total percent of funding provided to both combination and volunteer 
departments is no less than 55 percent.
    DHS generally makes funding decisions using rank order resulting 
from the panel evaluation. However, DHS may deviate from rank order and 
make funding decisions based on the type of department (career, 
combination, or volunteer) and/or the size and character of the 
community the applicant serves (urban, suburban, or rural) to the 
extent it is required to satisfy statutory provisions.

[[Page 13554]]

Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program

    In addition to the grants available to fire departments in fiscal 
year 2008 through the competitive grant program, DHS will set aside 
$35,000,000 of the funds available under the AFG program to make grants 
to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, national, 
State, local or community organizations or agencies, including fire 
departments, for the purpose of carrying out fire prevention and injury 
prevention projects, and for research and development grants that 
address firefighter safety.
    In accordance with the statutory requirement to fund fire 
prevention activities, support to Fire Prevention and Safety Grant 
activities concentrates on organizations that focus on the prevention 
of injuries to children from fire. In addition to this priority, DHS 
places an emphasis on funding innovative projects that focus on 
protecting children under 14, seniors over 65, and firefighters. 
Because the victims of burns experience both short- and long-term 
physical and psychological effects, DHS places a priority on programs 
that focus on reducing the immediate and long-range effects of fire and 
burn injuries.
    DHS will issue an announcement regarding pertinent details of the 
Fire Prevention and Safety Grant portion of this program prior to the 
application period. Interested parties should monitor the grant 
program's Web site at: https://www.firegrantsupport.com.

Application Process

    Prior to the start of the application period, DHS will conduct 
applicant workshops across the country to inform potential applicants 
about the AFG program for 2008. In addition, DHS will provide 
applicants an online web-based tutorial and other information to use in 
preparing a quality application. Applicants are advised to access the 
application electronically at https://portal.fema.net, or through the 
AFG Web site at: https://www.firegrantsupport.com. In completing the 
application, applicants will provide relevant information on the 
applicant's characteristics, call volume, and existing capacities. 
Applicants will answer questions regarding their assistance request 
that reflects the funding priorities (iterated below). In addition, 
each applicant will complete a narrative addressing statutory 
competitive factors: financial need, benefits/costs, and improvement to 
the organization's daily operations. During the application period, 
applicants will be encouraged to contact DHS via a toll free number or 
online help desk with any questions. The electronic application process 
will permit the applicant to enter data and save the application for 
further use, and will not permit the submission of incomplete 
applications. Except for the narrative, the application uses a ``point-
and-click'' selection process, or requires the entry of information 
(e.g., name & address, call volume numbers, etc.).
    The application period for the AFG grants will be announced in the 
full Program Guidance when posted on the AFG website. During the 
approaching application season, the program office expects to receive 
between 20,000 and 25,000 applications. When available, application 
statistics on the type of department, type of community, and other 
factors reflected in the submitted requests will be posted on the AFG 
Web site: https://www.firegrantsupport.com.

Application Review Process

    DHS evaluates all applications in the preliminary screening process 
to determine which applications best address the program's announced 
funding priorities. This preliminary screening evaluates and scores the 
applicants' answers to the activity specific questions. Applications 
containing multiple activities will be given prorated scores based on 
the amount of funding requested for each activity. The best 
applications as determined in the preliminary step are deemed to be in 
the ``competitive range.''
    Once the competitive range is established DHS will review the list 
of applicants that are not included in the competitive range to 
determine if any of those applicants are responsible for protecting 
DHS-specified critical infrastructure or key resources. If it is 
determined that an applicant has responsibility for protecting one or 
more critical infrastructure or key resources but is not included in 
the competitive range, DHS will determine whether it is appropriate to 
place that application before the peer review panel due to the 
importance of its mission to protect these critical resources. This 
action will not affect any other application or otherwise undermine the 
process used to determine the competitive range. Peer review panelists 
will not be aware of any applicant's protection of critical 
infrastructure/key resources and all applications will be peer reviewed 
against the criteria described in this document.
    All applications in the competitive range are subject to a second 
level review by a technical evaluation panel made up of individuals 
from the fire service including, but not limited to, firefighters, fire 
marshals, and fire training instructors. The panelists will assess the 
application's merits with respect to the clarity and detail provided 
about the project, the applicant's financial need, the project's 
purported benefit to be derived from the cost, and the effectiveness of 
the project to enhance the health and safety of the public and fire 
service personnel.
    Using the evaluation criteria included here, the panelists will 
independently score each application before them and then discuss the 
merits and shortcomings of the application in an effort to reconcile 
any major discrepancies. A consensus on the score is not required. The 
panelists will assign a score to each of the elements detailed above. 
DHS will then consider the highest scoring applications resulting from 
this second level of review for awards. Applications that involve 
interoperable communications projects will undergo a separate review by 
the State Administrative Agency to assure that the communications 
project is consistent with the Statewide Communications 
Interoperability Plan (SCIP). If the State determines that the project 
is inconsistent with the State SCIP, the project will not be funded.
    After the completion of the reviews, DHS will select a sufficient 
number of awardees from this application period to obligate all of the 
available grant funding. DHS will announce the awards over several 
months and will notify non-successful applicants as soon as feasible. 
DHS will not make awards in any specified order, i.e., not by State, 
program, nor any other characteristic.

Criteria Development Process

    Each year, DHS conducts a criteria development meeting to develop 
the program's priorities for the coming year. DHS brings together a 
panel of fire service professionals representing the leadership of the 
nine major fire service organizations:
     Congressional Fire Service 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), and

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     North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD).
    The criteria development panel is charged with making 
recommendations to the grants program office regarding the creation 
and/or modification of program priorities as well as development of 
criteria and definitions as necessary.
    The governing statute requires that DHS publish each year in the 
Federal Register the guidelines that describe the application process 
and the criteria for grant awards. DHS must also include an explanation 
of any differences between the published guidelines and the 
recommendations made by the criteria development panel. The guidelines 
and the statement regarding the differences between the guidelines and 
the criteria development panel recommendations must be published in the 
Federal Register prior to awarding any grants under the program. 15 
U.S.C. 2229(b)(14).
    When considering the criteria development panel's recommendations, 
DHS looks to the broader Administration priorities established in 
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD 8), 39 Weekly Comp. 
Pres. Docs. 1822 (Dec. 17, 2003). DHS is mindful of some differences 
between the AFG statutory mandates and HSPD-8 priorities, such as the 
statutory requirement that DHS make AFG grants directly to fire 
departments and non-affiliated EMS organizations, as contrasted with 
the HSPD-8 preference for funding through the States. However, the AFG 
is consistent with the National Preparedness Guidelines called for by 
HSPD-8 by prioritizing investments based upon the assessment of an 
applicant's need and capabilities to effectively prepare for and 
respond to all hazards, including terrorism threats, and a 
consideration of the characteristics of the community served (e.g. 
presence of critical infrastructure, population served, call volume) to 
the extent permitted by law. To the extent practical, AFG has attempted 
to harmonize the directions from the President and the Secretary with 
the requirements and limitations of the authorization and the structure 
of the fire service. Federal funding of assets devoted to basic 
firefighting should complement all aspects of responding to the more 
complex chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear/explosive (CBRNE) 
threat.
    The Fiscal year 2008 criteria development panel meeting occurred 
June 6-7, 2007. For the 2008 program year, DHS implemented all 
recommendations presented by the criteria development panel. However, 
DHS implemented additional program changes that were not considered 
during the criteria development panel's deliberations. Those changes 
are as follows:
     In determining which applications will be reviewed by the 
peer panelists, DHS will review the list of applicants that are not 
included in the competitive range to determine if any those applicants 
are responsible for protecting critical infrastructure or key resources 
on this classified list. If it is determined that an applicant has 
responsibility for protecting one or more critical infrastructure or 
key resources but is not included in the competitive range, DHS will 
determine whether it is appropriate to place that application before 
the peer review panel due to the importance of its mission to protect 
these critical resources. This action will not affect any other 
application or otherwise undermine the process used to determine the 
competitive range. Peer review panelists will not be aware of any 
applicant's protection of critical infrastructure/key resources and all 
applications will be peer reviewed against the criteria
     For regional communications requests, DHS will require 
that any regional communications projects comply with the applicant's 
State-approved Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan.
     Under the wellness and fitness activities, DHS will not 
allow grantees to request funds for consultants such as nutritionists 
and fitness trainers. Also, costs of incentives to bolster 
participation in a wellness and fitness programs will not be eligible.
     Under the equipment acquisition activity, DHS will not 
allow funding for all-terrain vehicles, rescue boats, snowmobiles, and 
other small specialty vehicles.

Review Considerations

Fire Department Priorities

    Specific rating criteria for each of the eligible programs and 
activities are discussed below. The funding priorities described in 
this Notice have been recommended by a panel of representatives from 
the Nation's fire service leadership and have been accepted by DHS for 
the purposes of implementing the AFG. These rating criteria provide an 
understanding of the grant program's priorities and the expected cost-
effectiveness of any proposed project(s). The activities listed below 
are in no particular order of priority. Within each activity, DHS will 
consider the number of people served by the applicant with higher 
populations afforded more consideration than lower populations. DHS 
will further explain program priorities in program guidance to be 
published separately.
(1) Operations and Firefighter Safety Program
    (i) Training Activities. In implementing the fire service's 
recommendations, DHS has determined that the most benefit will be 
derived from instructor-led, hands-on training that leads to a 
nationally-sanctioned or State certification. Training requests that 
include Web-based home study or distance learning or the purchase of 
training materials, equipment, or props are a lower priority. 
Therefore, applications focused on national or State certification 
training, including train-the-trainer initiatives, will receive a 
higher competitive rating. Training that (1) involves instructors, (2) 
requires the students to demonstrate their grasp of knowledge of the 
training material via testing, and (3) is integral to a certification 
will receive a high competitive rating. Instructor-led training that 
does not lead to a certification, and any self-taught courses, are of 
lower benefit, and therefore will not receive a high priority.
    DHS will give higher priority, within the limitations imposed by 
statute, to training proposals which improve coordination capabilities 
across disciplines (Fire, EMS, and Police), and jurisdictions (local, 
State, and Federal). Training related to coordinated incident response 
(i.e. bomb threat or IED response), tactical emergency communications 
procedures, or similar types of inter-disciplinary, inter-
jurisdictional training will receive the highest competitive rating.
    Due to the inherent differences between urban, suburban, and rural 
firefighting characteristics, DHS has accepted the recommendations of 
the criteria development panel for different priorities in the training 
activities of departments that service these different types of 
communities. CBRNE awareness training has a high benefit, however, and 
will receive the highest consideration regardless of the type of 
community served and regardless of the absence of any national 
standard.
    For fire departments serving rural communities, DHS has determined 
that funding basic, operational-level firefighting, operational-level 
rescue, driver training, and first-responder EMS, EMT-B, and EMT-I 
training (i.e., training in basic firefighting, EMS, and rescue duties) 
has greater benefit than funding officer training, safety officer

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training, or incident-command training. In rural communities, after 
basic training, there is a greater cost-benefit ratio for officer 
training than for other specialized types of training such as mass 
casualty, HAZMAT, advance rescue and EMT-P, or inspector training.
    Conversely, for departments that are serving urban or suburban 
communities, DHS has determined that, due to the number of firefighters 
and the relatively-high percentage of the population protected, any 
training requests will receive a high priority rating regardless of the 
level of training requested. As such, when considering applications for 
training from departments serving urban and suburban communities, DHS 
will give higher priority to training proposals which improve 
coordination capabilities across first-responder disciplines (fire, 
EMS, and law enforcement), and jurisdictions (local, State, and 
Federal). Training related to coordinated incident response (e.g., 
weapons of mass destruction (WMD) awareness and incident operations, 
chemical or biological operations, or bomb threats), tactical emergency 
communications procedures, or similar types of inter-disciplinary, 
inter-jurisdictional training will receive the highest competitive 
rating.
    (ii) Wellness and Fitness Activities. In implementing the criteria 
panel's recommendations, DHS has determined that fire departments must 
offer periodic health screenings, entry physical examinations, and an 
immunization program to have an effective wellness/fitness program. 
Accordingly, applicants for grants in this category must currently 
offer or plan to offer with grant funds all three benefits to receive 
funding for any other initiatives in this activity. After entry-level 
physicals, annual physicals, and immunizations, DHS will give priority 
to formal fitness and injury prevention programs. DHS will give lower 
priority to stress management, injury/illness rehabilitation, and 
employee assistance.
    DHS has determined the greatest relative benefit will be realized 
by supporting new wellness and fitness programs. Therefore, applicants 
for new wellness/fitness programs will receive higher competitive 
ratings when compared with applicants whose wellness/fitness programs 
lack one or more of the three top priority items cited above, and 
applicants that already employ the requisite three activities of a 
wellness/fitness program. Finally, because participation is critical to 
achieving any benefits from a wellness or fitness program, applications 
that mandate participation or provide incentives for participation will 
receive higher competitive ratings.
    (iii) Equipment Acquisition. As stated in the AFG statute, DHS 
administers this grant program to protect the health and safety of 
firefighters and the public from fire and fire-related hazards. As 
such, equipment that has a direct effect on the health and safety of 
either firefighters or the public will receive a higher competitive 
rating than equipment that has no such effect. Equipment that promotes 
interoperability with neighboring jurisdictions (especially for 
communications equipment interoperable with a regional shared system) 
will receive additional consideration in the cost-benefit assessment if 
the application makes it into the competitive range.
    The criteria development panel concluded that this grant program 
will achieve the greatest benefits if the grant program provides funds 
to purchase firefighting equipment (including rescue, EMS, and/or CBRNE 
preparedness) that the applicant has not owned prior to the grant, or 
to replace used or obsolete equipment.
    According to the panel, a department takes on a ``new mission'' 
when it expands its services into areas not previously offered, such as 
a fire department seeking funding to provide emergency medical services 
for the first time. A ``new risk'' presents itself when a department 
must address risks that have materialized in the department's area of 
responsibility, e.g. the construction of a plant that uses significant 
levels of certain chemicals could constitute a ``new risk.'' An 
organization taking on ``new risks'' should be afforded higher 
consideration than departments taking on a ``new mission.'' New 
missions receive a lower priority due to the potential that an 
applicant will not be able to financially support and sustain the new 
mission beyond the period of the grant. However, applicants can 
mitigate the impact of ``new missions'' on the competitiveness of their 
application by providing evidence that the department will be able to 
support and sustain the new mission beyond the period of the grant.
    Departments responding to high call volumes will be afforded a 
higher competitive rating than departments responding to lower call 
volumes. In other words, those departments that are required to respond 
more frequently will receive a higher competitive rating then those 
that respond less frequently.
    The purchase of equipment that brings the department into statutory 
or regulatory compliance will provide the highest benefit and therefore 
will receive the highest consideration. The purchase of equipment that 
brings a department into voluntary compliance with national standards 
will also receive a high competitive rating, but not as high as for the 
purchase of equipment that brings a department into statutory 
compliance. The purchase of equipment that does not affect statutory 
compliance or voluntary compliance with a national standard will 
receive a lower competitive rating.
    (iv) Personal Protective Equipment Acquisition. To achieve the 
Program's goals and maximize the benefit to the firefighting community, 
DHS believes that it must fund those applicants needing to provide 
personal protective equipment (PPE) to a high percentage of their 
personnel. Accordingly, DHS will assign a higher competitive rating in 
this category for fire departments where a larger number of active 
firefighting staff is without compliant PPE. DHS will assign a high 
competitive rating to departments that will purchase the equipment for 
the first time as opposed to departments replacing obsolete or 
substandard equipment (e.g., equipment that does not meet current NFPA 
and OSHA standards). For those departments that are replacing obsolete 
or substandard equipment, DHS will factor the age and condition of the 
equipment to be replaced into the score with a higher priority given to 
replacing old, damaged, torn, and/or contaminated equipment.
    DHS will only consider funding applications for personal alert 
safety system (PASS) devices that meet current national safety 
standards, i.e., integrated and/or automatic or automatic-on PASS. 
Finally, DHS takes into account the number of fire response calls that 
a department makes in a year with the higher priority going to 
departments with higher call volumes, while applications from 
departments with low call volumes are afforded lower competitive 
ratings.
    (v) Modifications to Fire Stations and Facilities. DHS believes 
that more benefit is derived from modifying fire stations than by 
modifying fire-training facilities or other fire-related facilities. 
The frequency of use has a bearing on the benefits derived from grant 
funds. As such, DHS will afford facilities occupied 24-hours-per-day/
seven-days-a-week the highest consideration when contrasted with 
facilities used on a part-time or irregular basis. Facilities open for 
broad usage and have a high occupancy capacity receive a higher 
competitive rating than facilities that have limited use and/or low 
occupancy capacity. The frequency and duration of

[[Page 13557]]

a facility's occupancy have a direct relationship to the benefits 
realized from funding in this activity.
    (2) Firefighting Vehicle Acquisition Program. Due to the inherent 
differences between urban, suburban, and rural firefighting 
conventions, DHS has developed different priorities in the vehicle 
program for departments that service different types of communities. 
The following chart delineates the priorities in this program area for 
each type of community. Due to the competitive nature of this program 
and the imposed limits of funding available for this program, it is 
unlikely that DHS will fund many vehicles not listed as a Priority One 
during the 2008 program year.

                 Firefighting Vehicle Program Priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Urban communities    Suburban communities       Rural communities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Priority One
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pumper                 Pumper                Pumper
Aerial                 Aerial                Brush/Attack
Quint (Aerial < 76')   Quint (Aerial < 76')  Tanker/Tender
Quint (Aerial > 76')   Quint (Aerial > 76')  Quint (Aerial < 76')
Rescue
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Priority Two
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Command                Command               HAZMAT
HAZMAT                 HAZMAT                Rescue
Light/Air              Rescue                Light/Air
Rehab                  Tanker/ Tender        Aerial
                       Brush/Attack          Quint (Aerial > 76')
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Priority Three
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foam Truck             Foam Truck            Foam Truck
ARFFV                  ARFFV                 ARFFV
Brush/Attack           Rehab                 Rehab
Tanker /Tender         Light/Air             Command
Ambulance              Ambulance             Ambulance
Fire Boat              Fire Boat             Fire Boat
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DHS will evaluate the marginal value derived from an additional 
vehicle of any given type on the basis of call volume. As a result, 
departments with fewer vehicles of a given type than other departments 
who service comparable call volumes are more likely to score 
competitively than departments with more vehicles of that type and 
comparable call volume unless the need for an additional vehicle of 
such type is made apparent in the application.
    As in 2007, applicants in the 2008 program year may submit requests 
for more than one vehicle. Applicants must supply sufficient 
justification for each vehicle contained in the request. For those 
applications with multiple vehicles, the panelists will be instructed 
to evaluate the marginal benefit to be derived from funding the 
additional vehicle(s) given the potential use and the population 
protected. DHS anticipates that the panels will only recommend an award 
for a multiple-vehicles application when the cost-benefit justification 
is adequately compelling.
    DHS believes that a greater benefit will be derived from funding an 
additional vehicle(s) to departments that own fewer or no vehicles of 
the type requested. As such, DHS assigns a higher competitive rating in 
the apparatus category to fire departments that own fewer firefighting 
vehicles relative to other departments serving similar types of 
communities (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural). DHS assesses all 
vehicles with similar functions when assessing the number of vehicles a 
department possesses within a particular type. For example, the 
``pumper'' category includes: Pumpers, engines, pumper/tankers 
(apparatus that carries a minimum of 300 gallons of water and has a 
pump with a capacity to pump a minimum of 750 gallons per minute), 
rescue-pumpers, quints (with aerials less than 76 feet in length), and 
urban interface vehicles (Type I). Apparatus that has water capacity in 
excess of 1,000 gallons and a pump with pumping capacity of less than 
750 gallons per minute are considered to be a tanker/tender.
    DHS assigns a higher competitive rating to departments possessing 
an aged fleet of firefighting vehicles. DHS will also assign a higher 
competitive rating to departments that respond to a high volume of 
incidents.
    DHS will give lower priority to funding departments seeking 
apparatus with the goal to expand into new mission areas unless the 
applicant demonstrates that they will be able to support and sustain 
the new mission or service area beyond the grant program.
    DHS will assign no competitive advantage to the purchase of 
standard model commercial vehicles relative to custom vehicles, or the 
purchase of used vehicles relative to new vehicles in the preliminary 
evaluation of applications. DHS has noted that, depending on the type 
and size of department, the peer review panelists often prefer low-cost 
vehicles when evaluating the cost-benefit section of the project 
narratives. DHS also reserves the right to consider current vehicle 
costs within the fire service vehicle manufacturing industry when 
determining the level of funding that will be offered to the potential 
grantee, particularly if those current costs indicate that the 
applicant's proposed purchase costs are excessive.
    DHS will allow departments serving urban or suburban communities to 
apply for more than one vehicle. DHS, however, will only allow 
departments serving rural communities to apply for one vehicle. DHS 
will limit applications from suburban or urban departments to one 
vehicle per station as well as per statutory funding limits. DHS will 
not limit 2008 applications because of a vehicle award from previous 
AFG program years.
    (3) Administrative Costs. Panelists will assess the reasonability 
of the administrative costs requested in any application and determine 
if the request is reasonable and in the best interest of the program.

Nonaffiliated EMS Organization Priorities

    DHS may make grants for the purpose of enhancing the provision of 
emergency medical services by nonaffiliated EMS organizations. The 
statute limits funding for these organizations to no more than 2 
percent of the appropriated amount. DHS has determined that it is more 
cost-effective to enhance or expand an existing emergency medical 
service organization by providing training and/or equipment than to 
create a new service. Communities that do not currently offer emergency 
medical services but are turning to this grant program to initiate such 
a service received the lowest competitive rating. DHS does not believe 
creating a nonaffiliated EMS program is a substantial and sufficient 
benefit under the program.
    Specific rating criteria and priorities for each of the grant 
categories are provided below following the descriptions of this year's 
eligible programs. The rating criteria, in conjunction with the program 
description, provide an understanding of the evaluation standards. In 
each activity, the amount of the population served by the applicant 
will be taken into consideration with higher populations afforded more 
consideration than low populations served. DHS will further explain 
program priorities in the Program Guidance upon publication thereof.
(1) EMS Operations and Safety Program
    Five different activities may be funded under this program area: 
EMS training, EMS equipment, EMS personal protective equipment, 
wellness and fitness, and modifications to facilities. Requests for 
equipment and training to prepare for response to incidents involving 
CBRNE were available under the applicable equipment and training 
activities.

[[Page 13558]]

    (i) Training Activities. DHS believes that upgrading a service that 
currently meets a basic life support capacity to a higher level of life 
support creates the most benefit. Therefore, DHS will give a higher 
competitive rating to nonaffiliated EMS organizations that seek to 
upgrade from first responder to EMT-B level or EMT-I level of service. 
Because training is a prerequisite to the effective use of EMS 
equipment, organizations with requests that focused more on training 
activities received a higher competitive rating than organizations 
whose requests focused more on equipment. The second priority is to 
elevate emergency responders' capabilities from EMT-B or EMT-I to a 
higher level of service.
    (ii) EMS Equipment Acquisition. As noted above, training received a 
higher competitive rating than equipment. Applications seeking 
assistance to purchase equipment to support the EMT-B level or EMT-I 
level of service received a higher priority than requests seeking 
assistance to purchase equipment to support advance level EMS services. 
Items that are eligible but a lower priority include tents, shelters, 
generators, lights, and heating and cooling units. Firefighting 
equipment is not eligible under this activity.
    As discussed previously, organizations taking on ``new risks'' will 
be afforded much higher consideration than an organization taking on a 
``new mission.''
    (iii) EMS Personal Protective Equipment. DHS gives the same 
priorities for EMS PPE as it did for fire department PPE discussed 
above. Acquisition of PASS devices or any firefighting PPE is not 
eligible, however, for funding for EMS organizations.
    (iv) Wellness and Fitness Activities. DHS believes that to have an 
effective wellness/fitness program, nonaffiliated EMS organizations 
must offer periodic health screenings, entry physical examinations, and 
an immunization program similar to the programs for fire departments 
discussed previously. Accordingly, applicants for grants in this 
category must currently offer or plan to offer with grant funds all 
three benefits (periodic health screenings, entry physical 
examinations, and an immunization program) to receive funding for any 
other initiatives in this activity. The priorities for EMS wellness/
fitness programs are the same as for fire departments as discussed 
above.
    (v) Modification to EMS Stations and Facilities. DHS believes that 
the competitive rankings and priorities applied to modification of fire 
stations and facilities, discussed above, apply equally to EMS stations 
and facilities.
(2) EMS Vehicle Acquisition Program
    DHS gives the highest funding priority to acquisition of ambulances 
and transport vehicles due to the inherent benefits to the community 
and EMS service provider. Due to the costs associated with obtaining 
and outfitting non-transport rescue vehicles relative to the benefits 
derived from such vehicles, DHS will give non-transport rescue vehicles 
a lower competitive rating than transport vehicles. DHS anticipates 
that the EMS vehicle awards will be very competitive due to very 
limited available funding. Accordingly, DHS will likely only fund 
vehicles that are listed as a ``Priority One'' in the 2008 program 
year.
    The following chart delineates the priorities in this program area 
for EMS vehicle program. The priorities are the same regardless of the 
type of community served.

                         EMS Vehicle Priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Priority one             Priority two           Priority three
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Ambulance or     First            Command
 transport unit to        responder non-           vehicles.
 support EMT-B needs      transport vehicles       Hovercraft.
 and functions            Special          Other special
                          operations vehicles      access vehicles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Along with the priorities illustrated above, DHS has accepted the 
fire service recommendation that emerged from the criteria development 
process that funding applicants that own few or no vehicles of the type 
sought will be more beneficial than funding applicants that own 
numerous vehicles of that same type. DHS assesses the number of 
vehicles an applicant owns by including all vehicles of the same type. 
For example, transport vehicles will be considered the same as 
ambulances. DHS will give a higher competitive rating to applicants 
that have an aged fleet of emergency vehicles, and to applicants with 
old, high-mileage vehicles. DHS will give a higher competitive rating 
to applicants that respond to a significant number of incidents 
relative to applicants responding less often. Finally, DHS will afford 
applicants with transport vehicles with high mileage more consideration 
than applicants with vehicles that driven extensively.
    (3) Administrative Costs. Panelists assess the reasonableness of 
the administrative costs requested in each application and determined 
whether the request will be reasonable and in the best interest of the 
program.

    Dated: March 10, 2008.
David Paulison,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. E8-5039 Filed 3-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-64-P