[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: 44CFR152.4]

[Page 391-392]
 
              TITLE 44--EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE
 
             CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
 
PART 152--ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 152.4  Roles and responsibilities.

    (a) Applicants must:
    (1) Complete the application and certify to the accuracy of the 
application;
    (2) Certify that they are an eligible applicant, i.e., a fire 
department, as defined in this rule;
    (3) Certify as to the characteristics of their community, i.e., 
urban, suburban, or rural;
    (4) Certify to the size of the population of the community served; 
and,

[[Page 392]]

    (5) Certify to the type of department, i.e., volunteer/combination 
or career.
    (b) Recipients (Grantees) must agree to:
    (1) Share in the costs of the projects funded under this grant 
program. Fire departments in areas serving populations over 50,000 must 
agree to match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal 
funds equal to 30 percent (30%) of the total project cost. Fire 
departments serving areas with a population of 50,000 or less will have 
to match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds 
equal to 10 percent (10%) of the total project cost. All cost-share 
contributions must be cash. No ``in-kind'' contributions will be 
considered for the statutorily required cost-share. No waivers of this 
requirement will be granted except for fire departments of Insular Areas 
as provided for in 48 U.S.C. 1469a.
    (2) Maintain operating expenditures in the areas funded by this 
grant activity at a level equal to or greater than the average of their 
operating expenditures in the two years preceding the year in which this 
assistance is received.
    (3) Retain grant files and supporting documentation for three years 
after the conclusion of the grant.
    (4) Report to FEMA on the progress made on the grant and financial 
status of the grant.
    (5) Make their grant files, books and records available if requested 
for an audit to ensure compliance with any requirement of the grant 
program.
    (6) Provide information to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) 
national fire incident reporting system (NFIRS) for the period covered 
by the assistance. If a grantee does not currently participate in the 
incident reporting system and does not have the capacity to report at 
the time of the award, that grantee must agree to provide information to 
the system for a twelve-month period commencing as soon as they develop 
the capacity to report.
    (c) FEMA activities: (1) We will ensure that the funds are awarded 
based on the priorities and expected benefits articulated in the 
statute, this part 152, and USFA's strategic plan. USFA's operational 
and performance objectives of its strategic plan are to reduce losses of 
life and reduce economic losses due to fire and related emergencies. 
Specific target groups are children under 14 years old, seniors over 65 
years old, and firefighters.
    (2) We will ensure that not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of 
the appropriated funding will be used to purchase firefighting vehicles.
    (3) We will ensure that not less than five percent (5%) of the 
appropriated funds are made available to national, State, local, or 
community organizations, including fire departments, for the purpose of 
carrying out fire prevention programs.
    (4) We will ensure that fire departments with volunteer staff, or 
staff comprised of a combination of career fire fighters and volunteers, 
receive a proportion of the total grant funding that is not less than 
the proportion of the United States population that those firefighting 
departments protect.
    (5) We will ensure that grants are made to fire departments located 
in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
    (6) We will strive to ensure geographic diversity of awards as 
stipulated in Sec. 152.6.