Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Fire Station Construction Grants (SCG) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


1.	What is the purpose of the FY 2009 ARRA SCG?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 19, is designed to jumpstart the U.S. economy, create or save millions of jobs and address national needs—while supporting unprecedented levels of transparency, oversight and accountability.  

The immediate purpose of the FY 2009 ARRA SCG is to improve response capability and capacity, and firefighter safety based on need, through the construction, renovation or modification of fire stations.

2.	How much funding was available under the FY 2009 ARRA SCG?

The total amount of funds available under the ARRA SCG is $210,000,000.  Congress has allowed up to 5 percent of those funds for administrative purposes; however, only 2.29 percent is being used.  FEMA is also retaining some funds (approximately 10 percent, or $21M) to allow for contingencies that typically occur under construction grants.  Today, FEMA is announcing approximately $166,000,000 in awards with remaining funds to be obligated by the end of the calendar year.  Additional awards will be announced in the first quarter of FY 2010.

3.	What are the priorities for the FY 2009 ARRA SCG?

•	Projects in areas of the country where unemployment has been the highest
•	Projects that are ready to begin shortly after award (i.e. applicant already owns land and has required permits in hand, etc.)
•	Projects that improve the emergency response time and firefighter safety
•	Projects that are environmentally friendly; conform to national consensus codes and standards; provide best value for cost; and can be constructed within the proposed budget.


4.	Who was eligible to apply for FY 2009 ARRA SCG funds?

Non-federal fire departments and state, local, and tribal governments that fund or operate fire departments were eligible to apply for SCG.

5.	What are the eligible uses of FY 2009 ARRA SCG funds?

	The following project types are eligible uses of FY 2009 ARRA SCG funds:
•	Construction of new fire stations
•	Renovation of fire stations to enhance response capacity and firefighter safety

6.	How were the FY 2009 ARRA SCG allocations determined?

Awards were determined through a fully competitive process.  Competition was carried out in two phases: 1) alignment of applications with announced funding priorities; and 2) peer review of those applications that best met the funding priorities.

7.	What legislation authorizes funding for the FY 2009 ARRA SCG?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) provides funding for this program.

8.	What other resources are available to address programmatic, technical and financial questions?

•	For additional program-specific information, please call the AFG Help Desk at (866) 274-0960 or email at firegrants@dhs.gov.  Help Desk hours of operation will be from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday. 
•	For financially-related questions, please contact the FEMA Call Center at (866) 927-5646 or via E-mail to ASK-GMD@dhs.gov.

9.	What is the FY 2009 ARRA SCG period of performance?

The period of performance of the grants will be a maximum of 36 months.