FY 2010 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Fact Sheet


Overview
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), provides financial assistance to fire departments to enhance their ability to protect the public and fire service personnel from fire and related hazards. The authority for AFG is derived from the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. §§ 2229 et seq.), as amended. Congress appropriated a total of $390 million for the FY 2010 AFG (Public Law 110-329). The primary goal of AFG is to help fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations meet their firefighting and emergency response needs. The FY 2010 AFG seeks to support organizations that lack the tools and resources necessary to more effectively protect the life and safety of the public and their emergency response personnel with respect to fire and all other hazards. 

Funding
In FY 2010, the total amount of funding distributed under this grant program will be approximately $310 million. FY 2010 AFG funds will be awarded to help fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations meet their firefighting and emergency response needs.

Eligibility
Eligible applicants for AFG are limited to fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations. Fire departments or nonaffiliated EMS organizations operating in any of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico are eligible for funding.


Allowable Costs
The FY 2010 AFG funds are to support firefighters and nonaffiliated EMS organizations in two categories, “Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety” and “Firefighter Vehicle Acquisition”.  “Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety” includes funding for training, equipment acquisition, personal protective equipment, wellness and fitness activities, and modifications of fire/EMS stations. “Firefighter Vehicle Acquisition” includes AFG provides grants for new firefighting vehicles, used fire apparatus originally designed for firefighting, or refurbished apparatus originally designed for firefighting. See published FEMA AFG Grant Guidance and Information Bulletins for more detailed information. The project period for any award under AFG is 12 months from the date of the award. 





Application Process and Evaluation Criteria

Prescreening Process:  Funding priorities and criteria for evaluating AFG applications are established based on recommendations from the criteria development panel. All submitted applications are ranked based on the substance of the application relative to the established funding priorities for the type of community served. Answers to the application’s activity-specific questions provide information used to determine each application’s ranking relative to the stated priorities. The scores are prorated based on each individual activity’s funding level, compared to the total requested funding. The number of activities included in the application does not affect the application - negatively or positively. 

Peer Review Process: Based on the results of the prescreening, applications that best address the priorities related in the program guidance are evaluated by the panelists. Panelists evaluate and score the following project elements:

 1. The clarity of the proposed project, including the project’s budget detail 
 2. The organization’s financial need 
 3. The benefits that would result from an award relative to the cost 
 4. The extent to which the grant would enhance daily operations. 

State Strategy and Communications Technical Review:  Each state provides a representative to the AFG Program Office to conduct a technical review of peer-reviewed applications from the state’s perspective. This state review focuses on requests for CBRNE-related equipment or training and/or interoperable communications equipment or training. After the panel review process is complete, the designated state homeland security official reviews the application to ensure that requests for communications systems conform to the state’s SCIP.



“FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.”
 


“FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.”