[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 44, Volume 1] [Revised as of October 1, 2002] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 44CFR152.1] [Page 387-390] TITLE 44--EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY PART 152--ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM--Table of Contents Sec. 152.1 Purpose and eligible uses of grant funds. (a) This competitive grant program will provide funding directly to fire departments of a State for the purpose of enhancing the department's ability to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of firefighting personnel, facing fire and fire-related hazards. In order to achieve this stated intent we invite fire departments to apply for assistance in any one (1) of the four (4) program areas described in paragraphs (a)(1) through (4) of this section. (1) Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Program. Appropriate activities under this program area include: Training, Wellness and Fitness, Firefighting Equipment and Personal Protective Equipment. Applicants can apply for as many related activities under this function as necessary. (i) Training Activities: (A) Training firefighting personnel in fire-fighting, emergency response, supervision and safety, arson prevention and detection, handling of hazardous materials, or training firefighting personnel to provide training in any of these areas. Eligible uses of training funds include but are not limited to purchase of training curricula, training equipment and props including trailers, training services, attendance at formal training forums, etc. Tow vehicles or other means [[Page 388]] of transport may be eligible as a transportation expense if adequately justified in the proposal, but transportation expenses will be limited to $6,000 per year. Compensation to volunteer firefighters for wages lost as a result of attending training under this program is an eligible expense if justified in the grant proposal. Overtime expenses paid to career firefighters to attend training, or overtime expenses paid to firefighters to cover for their colleagues while their colleagues are in training, is an eligible expense if justified in the grant proposal. Even though compensation is an eligible expense, proposals that contain such compensation expenses may be less favorable than similar proposals without compensation expenses due to the benefit/cost element in the evaluation process. (B) Activities that are not eligible in this area include construction of facilities such as classrooms, buildings, towers, etc. Modifications to an existing facility are allowable if the modifications involve only minor renovation as defined herein (i.e., limited to minor interior alterations costing less than $10,000). (ii) Wellness and Fitness Activities: (A) Establishing and/or equipping wellness and fitness programs for firefighting personnel, including the procurement of medical services to ensure that the firefighting personnel are physically able to carry out their duties (purchase of medical equipment is not eligible under this activity). Expenses to carry out wellness and fitness activities that include costs such as personnel (i.e., health-care consultants, trainers, and nutritionists), physicals, equipment (including shipping), supplies, and other related contract services that are directly associated with the implementation of the proposed activity are eligible. (B) Transportation expenses and fitness club memberships for the firefighters or their families would not be eligible under the wellness and fitness program. Other activities that are not eligible in this area include construction of facilities to house a fitness program such as exercise or fitness rooms, showers, etc. Modifications to an existing facility are allowable if the modifications involve only renovations as defined herein (i.e., limited to minor interior alterations costing less than $10,000). (iii) Firefighting Equipment Acquisition: (A) Acquiring additional firefighting equipment, including equipment needed directly for fire suppression or to enhance the safety or effectiveness of firefighting or rescue activities. Compressor systems, cascade systems, or similar SCBA refill systems are eligible expenditures in this area as are individual communications and accountability systems. The cost of shipping equipment purchased under this program is also an eligible expense. Thermal imaging cameras are eligible but the number of cameras that can be purchased with grant funds will be limited based on the population served by the department applying for assistance. Departments that serve communities of less than 20,000 can purchase one thermal imaging camera with grant funds if awarded a grant; departments serving communities between 20,000 and 50,000 can purchase for two cameras with grant funds if awarded a grant; and, departments serving communities of over 50,000 can purchase three cameras with grant funds if awarded a grant. Portable radios and/or mobile communications equipment (including mobile repeaters) are eligible. (B) Integrated communications systems (or parts thereof), such as computer-aided dispatch, towers, repeaters, etc., are not eligible under this activity. Vehicles, as defined herein, are not eligible under this activity. (iv) Personal Protective Equipment Acquisition: (A) Acquiring personal protective equipment required for firefighting personnel as approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other personal protective equipment for firefighting personnel to enhance their operational safety. Eligible personal protective equipment includes clothing such as ``Turnout Gear'' or ``Bunker Gear'' (including boots, pants, coats, gloves, hoods, goggles, vests, and helmets), self- contained breathing apparatus, spare cylinders, and personal alert safety systems. (B) The purchase of three-quarter length rubber boots is an ineligible expenditure under this activity. Uniforms [[Page 389]] (formal/parade or station/duty) or uniform items (hats, badges, etc.) are also not eligible expenditures under this activity. (2) Fire Prevention Programs. (i) Applicants can apply for as many related activities under this function as necessary. Appropriate activities in this program include: Public Education, Public Awareness, Enforcing Fire Codes, Inspector Certification, Purchase and Install Smoke Alarms, and Arson Prevention and Detection Activities. Eligible expenses to carry out these activities would include costs such as fire education safety trailer, personnel, transportation, equipment, supplies, and contracted services which are directly associated with the implementation of the proposed activity. Tow vehicles or other means of transport may be eligible as a transportation expense if adequately justified in the proposal, but transportation expenses will be limited to $6,000 per year. (ii) Construction is not eligible under this program. A safety village that is not transportable would be considered construction, and therefore, not eligible. (3) Emergency Medical Services Program. (i) Applicants can apply for as many related activities under this function as necessary. Appropriate activities in this program are training (instructional costs (i.e., books, materials, equipment, supplies, and exam fees), certification/re- certification expenses, and continuing education programs) and equipment (defibrillators, basic and advanced life support equipment, universal precaution supplies (i.e., medical PPE) mobile and portable communication equipment, computers, expendable supplies, and infectious disease control and decontamination systems). Tow vehicles or other means of transport may be eligible as a transportation expense if adequately justified in the proposal, but transportation expenses will be limited to $6,000 per year. (ii) Not eligible in this program are vehicles such as ambulances, medications and integrated communication systems (or parts thereof), such as computer aided dispatch, towers, fixed repeaters, etc. (4) Firefighting Vehicles Program. Eligible apparatus under this function includes, but is not limited to, pumpers, engines, brush trucks, tankers, rescue, ambulances, quints, aerials, foam units, and boats. Applicants may apply for only one vehicle under this program per year. Eligible expenses under this program would include the cost of the vehicle and associated equipment necessary to conform to applicable national standards. Due to their cost, aerials and quints have a lower benefit than pumpers, engines, tankers, and brush trucks. New, used or refurbished vehicles are eligible. Custom vehicles are eligible, but they may not be as favorably evaluated as a lower costing commercial vehicle. An allowance for transportation to inspect a vehicle under consideration or during a vehicle's production would be eligible if included in the grant proposal. (b) Other costs. (1) Administrative costs are allowable under any of the program areas listed in paragraph (a)(1) through (4) of this section in accordance with OMB Circular A-87. (See 5 CFR 1510.3 for availability of OMB circulars.) Applicants may apply for administrative costs if the costs are directly related to the implementation of the program for which they are applying. Applicants must list their costs under the ``other'' category in their budget and explain what the costs are for in their project narrative. Examples of eligible administrative costs would be shipping, computers, office supplies, etc. (2) Applicants that have an approved indirect cost rate may charge indirect costs to the grant if they submit the documentation that supports the rate to us. We will allow the rate to be applied as long as it is consistent with its established terms. For example, some indirect cost rates may not apply to capital procurements; in this case, indirect cost rates would not apply for a grant to purchase equipment or a vehicle. (3) Some applicants with large awards may be required to undergo an audit in accordance with OMB Circular A-133, specifically, any recipient of Federal funding that spends in excess of $300,000 of those funds in a year. The costs incurred for such an audit would [[Page 390]] be an expenditure that is eligible for reimbursement if included in the budget proposal. (4) The panelists will review the applications that make it into the competitive range and judge each application on its own merits. The panelists will consider all expenses budgeted, including administrative and indirect, as part of the cost-benefit determination.