[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 44, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 44CFR152.7]



[Page 394-395]

 

              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. 152.7  Grant payment, reporting and other requirements.



    (a) Grantees will have twelve months to incur obligations and 

complete the scope of work to fulfill their responsibilities under this 

grant program. The performance period of each grant will be detailed in 

the Articles of Agreement that we provide each grantee. Grantees may 

request funds from FEMA as reimbursement for expenditures made under the 

grant program or they may request funds for immediate cash needs under 

FEMA regulations (44 CFR 13.21). Advances of funds may also be approved 

to meet immediate cash needs.

    (b) Generally, fire departments cannot use grant funds to pay for 

products



[[Page 395]]



and services contracted for, or purchased prior to the effective date of 

the grant. However, we will consider requests for reimbursement for 

these on an exception basis. Expenses incurred after the application 

deadline but prior to award may be eligible for reimbursement if the 

expenses were justified, unavoidable (i.e., urgent and compelling), 

consistent with the scope of work, and specifically approved by the 

Assistance Officer. Expenses, obligations, commitments or contracts 

incurred or entered into prior to the application deadline are not 

eligible to be included as an expense.

    (c) All grantees must follow their own established procurement 

process when buying anything with Federal grant funds (as provided in 44 

CFR 13.26). If the grantee does not have an established procurement 

process, they must seek a minimum of two bids for any acquisition.

    (d) When requesting funding, grantees can only request an amount 

that is necessary to satisfy their immediate cash needs directly related 

to the grant, i.e., an amount equal to the total eligible grant expenses 

due within 30 days. Grantees can request payments of up to one hundred 

(100) percent of the federal share of the award amount but only if 

delivery of the ordered products and/or services is imminent 

(approximately 30 days) and the resulting payment will require the 

entire amount of funds.

    (e) A grantee may request sufficient funding for a down payment if 

required to do so by the seller, such as in grants involving some 

purchases of firefighting vehicles. The grantee may request as much as 

fifty (50) percent of the federal share of the award amount at the time 

of the order placement to pay the down payment. The grantee may request 

the balance of the federal share upon delivery of the ordered equipment 

or vehicle.

    (f) The recipients of funding under this program must report to us 

on how the grant funding was used and the benefits that resulted. This 

will be accomplished via submission of performance reports. Details 

regarding the reporting requirements will be provided in the Articles of 

Agreement provided to each grantee.

    (g) Fire departments that receive funding under this program must 

agree to provide information to the 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 possible after they develop the capacity to 

report. Capacity to report to the NFIRS must be established prior to the 

termination of the one-year performance period. [NFIRS is under review 

for approval by the Office of Management and Budget under OMB control 

number 3067-0161.]