[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 44, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 44CFR152.7]

[Page 396-397]
 
              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 397]]

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.]