Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)

 

The goal of the SAFER Grant Program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. Local fire departments accomplish this by improving staffing and deployment capabilities, so they may more effectively and safely respond to emergencies. With enhanced staffing levels, recipients should experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene. The authorizing authority for the program is Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended (15 U.S.C 2229a). The SAFER Program directly supports Goal 3 of the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan to Promote and Sustain a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation. Performance Measures: Grant Recipients: Number of front-line personnel hired Number of volunteer firefighters recruited Number of firefighters retained SAFER Program Office Number of grants awarded Number of grants completed

Active 97.083 Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 The goal of the SAFER Grant Program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. SAFER intends to improve or restore local fire departments’ staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively and safely respond to emergencies. With enhanced or restored staffing levels, recipients should experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene. Provided grants funds to 379 fire departments and national, state, local, or tribal organizations that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters for the purpose of hiring new firefighters and the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. The grant funds will assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. Recipients should also experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene.
Fiscal Year 2017 The goal of the SAFER Grant Program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. SAFER intends to improve local fire departments’ staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively and safely respond to emergencies. With enhanced staffing levels, recipients should experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene.
Fiscal Year 2018 The goal of the SAFER Grant Program is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, and assure that communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. SAFER intends to improve local fire departments’ staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively and safely respond to emergencies. With enhanced staffing levels, recipients should experience a reduction in response times and an increase in the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene.
Fiscal Year 2019 Fiscal Year 2019: FY19 (estimated): will award 300 in FY 2019
Fiscal Year 2020 Thanks to a SAFER grant, a local fire department department was able to use the extra work force made available from SAFER funding to quickly contain a fire at a high rise structure as well as as well as rescue five people from the flames.
Fiscal Year 2022 Success stories are included at Assistance To Firefighters Grants Success Stories | FEMA.gov
Fiscal Year 2023 Success stories are included at Assistance To Firefighters Grants Success Stories found here: Assistance To Firefighters Grants Success Stories | FEMA.gov Public Law -
Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended (15 U.S.C § 2229a); and Section 4013 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2 This program is restricted to the jurisdictions/organizations described in program guidance documents. In summary, for the purpose of this program, "State" is defined as the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Alaska Village Initiative, a nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Alaska, shall also be considered eligible for purposes of receiving assistance under this program on behalf of Alaska Native villages. A "fire department" is defined as an agency or organization that has 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 on a first-due basis to a population within a fixed geographical area. Fire departments may be comprised of members who are all volunteer, combination volunteer/career, or all career. Local or tribal communities serviced by the fire department including, local businesses, homeowners and property owners. Applicant must certify that they are an eligible applicant, i.e., a fire department, as described in program guidance documents. Refer to Notice of Funding Opportunity document for specific information. Preapplication coordination is required. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. The NOFO for this listing will be posted on Grants.gov. SAFER application materials are available through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program's FEMA GO (FEMA Grants Outcomes) application portal, at https://go.fema.gov. All applicants for this award must: 1. Be registered and active in System for Award Management (SAM) in order to apply; 2. Provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number in its application; and 3. Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active federal award or an application or plan under consideration by DHS FEMA. Applications or plans are peer reviewed and subsequently also reviewed by DHS program and administrative staff. Any issues or concerns noted in the application might be addressed with the successful applicant prior to the award being issued. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines Refer to NOFO Applicants that receive an adverse decision or denial, can request reconsideration of the decision. Request for reconsideration must be submitted in writing, to the address contained on the program's website within 30 days of the notification of denial by the administering program office. None. Refer to the NOFO for information on criteria for selecting proposals. Not all fire departments will be eligible to apply. Training, equipment, overtime, and administrative expenses are not eligible under the Hiring of Firefighters Grant activity. Individuals seeking personal assistance are not eligible. This program is intended to assist fire departments and recognized organizations as identified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity, and only those fire departments and organizations as specified in the Notice of Funding Opportunity are eligible. Funds may be used to recruit and hire firefighters, but cannot be used to retain or supplant (replace) the applicants’ funds budgeted for that purpose. Recipients must maintain pre-existing staffing levels and retain grant funded personnel throughout the period of performance. This program is restricted to the jurisdictions/organizations described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. For specific information, refer to the Notice of Funding Opportunity. In summary, for the purpose of this program, "State" is defined as the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Alaska Village Initiative, a nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Alaska, shall also be considered eligible for purposes of receiving assistance under this program on behalf of Alaska Native villages. A "fire department" is defined as an agency or organization that has 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 on a first-due basis to a population within a fixed geographical area. Fire departments may be comprised of members who are all volunteer, combination volunteer/career, or all career. Performance Reports: Refer to Notice of Funding Opportunity document In accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR 200, Subpart F - Audit Requirements, nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $750,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Non-Federal entities that expend less than $750,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in 2 CFR 200.503 For fiscal years beginning on or after December 26, 2014, recipients that expend $750,000.00 or more from all federal funding sources during their fiscal year are required to submit an organization-wide financial and compliance audit report, also known as a "single audit" report. The audit must be performed in accordance with the requirements of Government and Accountability Office's (GAO) Government Auditing Standards, located at https://www.gao.gov/yellowbook/overview, and the requirements of Subpart F of 2 C.F.R. Part 200, located at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?node=sp2.1.200.f. Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other non-federal entity records pertinent to a federal award generally must be maintained for at least three years from the date the final Federal Financial Report (FFR) is submitted. See 2 C.F.R. ? 200.334. Further, if the recipient does not submit a final FFR and the award is administratively closed, FEMA uses the date of administrative closeout as the start of the general record retention period. The record retention period may be longer than three years or have a different start date in certain cases. These include: o Records for real property and equipment acquired with federal funds must be retained for three years after final disposition of the property. See 2 C.F.R. ? 200.334(c). o If any litigation, claim, or audit is started before the expiration of the three-year period, the records must be retained until all litigation, claims, or audit findings involving the records have been resolved and final action taken. See 2 C.F.R. ? 200.334(a). o The record retention period will be extended if the recipient is notified in writing of the extension by FEMA, the cognizant or oversight agency for audit, or the cognizant agency for indirect costs. See 2 C.F.R. ? 200.334(b). o Where FEMA requires recipients to report program income after the period of performance ends, the program income record retention period begins at the end of the recipient's fiscal year in which program income is earned. See 2 C.F.R. ? 200.334(e). o For indirect cost rate proposals, cost allocation plans, or other rate computations records, the start of the record retention period depends on whether the indirect cost rate documents were submitted for negotiation. If the indirect cost rate documents were submitted for negotiation, the record retention period begins from the date those documents were submitted for negotiation. If indirect cost rate documents were not submitted for negotiation, the record retention period begins at the end of the recipient's fiscal year or other accounting period covered by that indirect cost rate. See 2 C.F.R. ? 200.334(f). Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Public Law 93-498, 15 U.S.C. ? 2229a Statutory Formula: See applicable NOFO for more information.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. Additional Information: See applicable NOFO for more information. The hiring grants have a three-year performance period. The recruitment and retention grants are made in one-year increments up to a possible four-year period of performance. Please refer to the SAFER Notice of Funding Opportunity for specific details: FY 22 Staffing For Adequate Fire And Emergency Response (SAFER) NOFO. See Regional Assistance Locations. SAFER grants are directed from the FEMA Headquarters Office. There are 10 regional offices in FEMA who provide monitoring and oversight of FEMA recipients. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C Street, SW

Washington, DC 20742
Washington, DC 20742 US
firegrants@fema.dhs.gov
Phone: (866) 274-0960 http://www.fema.gov/firegrants 70-0413-0-1-999 (Project Grants) FY 22$360,000,000.00; FY 23 est $360,000,000.00; FY 24 FY 21$360,000,000.00; FY 20$355,000,000.00; FY 19$350,000,000.00; - (Project Grants) FY 22 FY 23 FY 24 est $370,000,000.00; - Award amounts for the SAFER program vary based on approved project costs, item eligibility, and applicable funding caps. There is no minimum nor maximum funding request. The average previous Hiring Activity awards was $3,253,266 and the lowest award amount was $293,000 while the highest was over $27 million. The average R&R Activity award was $308,960 and the lowest award amount was $5200 while the largest was over $2.8 million. Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, Public Law 93-498, 15 U.S.C. ? 2229a Fiscal Year 2020 Under the Hiring of Firefighters Activity, recipients hire new, additional firefighters to improve staffing levels or changing the status of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters. Under the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity, grants assist fire departments with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with or trained in the operations of firefighting and emergency response.