Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program Frequently Asked Questions

You will be able to review or edit the entire application prior to submission. However, if you would like to edit or change your application after submission, you will have to withdraw the application from consideration of award to edit. Then, the application must be resubmitted to FEMA to be considered for an award.

It is FEMA policy that actions initiated and/or completed without fulfilling the specific EHP requirements will not be considered for funding.

Applicants should consider the impact of the EHP process on the proposed period of performance. A project that involves clearing vegetation or trimming trees may take many months to be reviewed by EHP due to required consultation with local groups, such as conservancy, fish and wildlife, and Indian tribes. These applicants may wish to request a 24-month period of performance to ensure that the project can be completed on time.

Please see FEMA's EHP Screening form and instructions at EHP Screening Form. EHP policy guidance can be found at Preparedness Grants EHP Compliance webpage. Recipients will be notified of their EHP responsibilities in the grant award package.

If you have information about instances of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement involving FEMA programs or operations, you should contact the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-323-8603; by fax at 202-254-4297; or online. All procurement activity must be conducted in accordance with Federal Procurement Standards at 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.317 – 200.326.

The AFG application is only available online in the FEMA GO (FEMA Grants Outcomes) application portal at FEMAGO - Login.

Registering and applying for an award under this program is a multi-step process and may take up to 4 weeks to complete.

To apply for an award under this program, all applicants must:

• Apply for, update, or verify their Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number and Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service;
• Have an account with login.gov;
• Register for, update or verify their SAM account and ensure the account is active before submitting the application;
• Register in FEMA GO, add the organization to the system, and establish the Authorized Organizational Representative. The organization’s electronic business point of contact (eBiz POC) from the SAM registration may need to be involved in this step. For step-by-step instructions, see Grants Management Modernization (GMM) FEMA GO Startup Guide;
• Submit the complete application in FEMA GO; and
• Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which the organization has an active federal award, or an application or plan under consideration by a federal awarding agency. As part of this, applicants must also provide information on an applicant’s immediate and highest-level owner and subsidiaries, as well as on all predecessors that have been awarded federal contracts or federal financial assistance within the last three years, if applicable.

After completing the awarded projects, some recipients may have unexpended funds remaining in their budget. These excess funds may result from any combination of under-budget acquisition activities or competitive procurement processes. The excess funds threshold is $10,000.

An amendment request is not necessary unless the item you intend to purchase requires an EHP review.

• Excess funds cannot be used to support Fire Prevention and Safety activities. The opportunity for excess funds is limited when the original uncompleted Scope of Work is changed via Amendment.
• Excess funds cannot be used for grant writer/preparer fees.
• Excess funds may only be used for allowable activities identified in the FY 2022 AFG Program NOFO.
• Excess funds are limited to the purchase of High Priority AFG Program items only.

The opportunity for excess funds is limited when the original uncompleted Scope of Work is changed via an Amendment.

Exceptions to the $10,000 use may be considered by FEMA if urgent and compelling need that can be directly related to a demonstrated event impacting the health and safety of the firefighters within the department can be identified.

For more details, please see Excess Funds Restrictions section of the FY 2022 AFG funding notice.

Eligible Fire departments, nonaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS), state fire training academies, and non-federal airport and/or port authority fire or EMS organizations.