[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 44, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 44CFR152.1]

[Page 388-389]
 
              TITLE 44--EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE
 
 CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 
                                SECURITY
 
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 departments 
abilities to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as 
that of firefighting personnel, facing fire and fire-related hazards. 
Eligible applicants can submit only one application per application 
period. Departments that submit multiple applications in one application 
period will have each of their applications deemed ineligible.
    (b) Eligible applicants are fire departments or fire departments of 
a State which is defined as an agency or organization that has a 
``formally recognized arrangement'' with a State, local or tribal 
authority (city, county, parish, fire district, township, town, or other 
non-Federal governing body) to provide fire suppression services within 
a fixed geographical area. A fire department can apply for assistance 
for its emergency medical services unit provided the unit falls 
organizationally under the auspices of the fire department. A 
municipality or fire district may submit an application on behalf of a 
fire department when the fire department lacks the legal status to do 
so, e.g., where the fire department falls within the auspices of the 
municipality. When a municipality or fire district submits an 
application on behalf

[[Page 389]]

of a fire department, the fire department is precluded from submitting 
an additional application. Non-Federal airport and/or port authority 
fire departments are eligible, but only if they have a formally 
recognized arrangement with the local jurisdiction to provide fire 
suppression, on a first-due basis, outside the confines of the airport 
or port facilities. Airport or port authority fire departments whose 
sole responsibility is suppression of fires on the airport grounds or 
port facilities are not eligible for this grant program. Fire 
departments that are Federal or contracted by the Federal government and 
whose sole responsibility is suppression of fires on Federal 
installations are not eligible for this grant program. Fire stations 
that are not independent but are part of, or controlled by a larger fire 
department or agency, are typically not eligible. Fire departments that 
are for-profit departments (i.e., do not have specific non-profit status 
or are not municipally based) are not eligible to apply for assistance 
under this program. Also not eligible for this program are ambulance 
services, rescue squads, auxiliaries, dive teams, urban search and 
rescue teams, fire service organizations or associations, and State/
local agencies such as a forest service, fire marshal, hospitals, and 
training offices.
    (c) Congress included in the legislation a list of fourteen 
activities eligible for funding under this program. Those activities are 
as follows:
    (1) To hire additional firefighting personnel;
    (2) To train firefighting personnel in firefighting, emergency 
response (including response to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon 
of mass destruction), arson prevention and detection, or the handling of 
hazardous materials, or to train firefighting personnel to provide any 
of the training in this paragraph (c);
    (3) To fund the creation of rapid intervention teams to protect 
firefighting personnel at scenes of fires and other emergencies;
    (4) To certify fire inspectors;
    (5) To establish wellness and fitness programs for firefighting 
personnel to ensure that the firefighting personnel can carry out their 
duties;
    (6) To fund emergency medical services provided by fire departments;
    (7) To acquire additional firefighting vehicles, including fire 
trucks;
    (8) To acquire additional firefighting equipment, including 
equipment for communications, monitoring, and response to a terrorism 
incident or use of a weapon of mass destruction;
    (9) To acquire personal protective equipment required for 
firefighting personnel by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, and other personal protective equipment for firefighting 
personnel, including protective equipment to respond to a terrorism 
incident or the use of a weapon of mass destruction;
    (10) To modify fire stations, fire training facilities, and other 
facilities to protect the health and safety of firefighting personnel;
    (11) To enforce fire codes;
    (12) To fund fire prevention programs;
    (13) To educate the public about arson prevention and detection; and
    (14) To provide incentives for the recruitment and retention of 
volunteer firefighting personnel for volunteer firefighting departments 
and other firefighting departments that utilize volunteers.
    (d) The specific activities that will be eligible for funding will 
be announced in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) that we will 
publish pursuant to the program's annual appropriation.