Current through Register
Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a) A volunteer company that has met the
requirements of § §
113.3 and
113.5(a) and (b)
(relating to initial application procedure; and final application procedure)
shall have its loan application classified within each category according to
its status as a volunteer fire company, a volunteer ambulance service or a
volunteer rescue service.
(b) A
loan application which meets two of the following requirements of the act shall
be given first priority:
(1) Replacement of
apparatus equipment not in compliance with NFPA standards or facilities not
meeting State or local building codes or fire prevention codes, Federal
regulations or OSFC directives.
(2)
Replacement of unsafe fire apparatus equipment or facilities, or
both.
(3) Provision of additional
equipment or facilities, or both, because of unusual demand on present
service.
(c) If the
volunteer company meets only one of the requirements in subsection (b), its
loan application shall be given second priority and shall be processed in the
order of its receipt.
(d) A
volunteer company, whether its loan application is given first or second
priority, shall have its eligibility for a loan based upon the following
standards which are listed in the order of their importance:
(1) The financial need of the volunteer
company.
(2) The volunteer
company's ability to repay the loan.
(3) The financial assets of the volunteer
company and its ability to obtain revenue, income and financial support and
resources from outside sources. Revenue sources shall include bank accounts,
investment accounts with other types of financial investment institutions,
income received from support groups of the volunteer company, membership fees
or dues collected, income received from service billing activities, gifts,
donations or contributions received from governmental and nongovernmental
entities and other sources of income.
(4) The volunteer company's prior loan
repayment history to the Volunteer Companies Loan Fund. This standard shall
include prior loan defaults, late payments, bankruptcies and related financial
difficulties.
(5) The age and
existing condition of the volunteer company's apparatus equipment or facilities
and the age of the apparatus equipment that is intended to replace the existing
apparatus equipment.
(6) The
geographic and demographic conditions that exist within the volunteer company's
service area. This standard includes unusual fire hazards, including the lack
of an adequate water supply, the potential for and the incidence of natural and
manmade disasters, the size of the population, the number of aged and disabled
residents, and the growth or decline of the population within the service area,
the amount of new home and business construction and expansion, the geographic
size of the service area and the resulting amount of mileage and incidence of
use incurred by the volunteer company's apparatus equipment.
(7) The number and type of signed mutual aid
agreements that the volunteer company maintains with other volunteer companies
and political subdivisions located within or adjacent to the county where the
volunteer company's apparatus equipment and its supporting facility are
located.
(8) The volunteer
company's training, certification and fire prevention program.
(e) The Commissioner of the OSFC
has the authority to waive any of the loan priorities or standards established
in this section whenever the applicant presents substantial evidence of
potential hardship or other justification for the granting of a
waiver.
This section cited in 4 Pa. Code §
113.5 (relating to final
application procedure).
