What is the purpose of SAFER?
The SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant Program was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help increase the number of firefighters. The goal is to enhance the ability of fire departments to attain 24-hour staffing and thus assure that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. SAFER grants will help fire departments meet minimum standards for firefighter staffing. If selected for a SAFER award, grantees will be required to adhere to several terms and conditions of the award.
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What kinds of activities are eligible for funding in SAFER?
1. Hiring of Firefighters Activity. The goal of the Hiring of Firefighters Activity is to award grants directly to volunteer, combination, and career fire departments to help them increase the number of frontline firefighters with a goal of ultimately attaining 24-hour staffing, thus assuring the community has adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. This activity provides 5-year grants to assist fire departments in paying a portion of the salaries of newly hired firefighters. These newly hired positions must be in addition to authorized and funded active firefighter positions. Grantees are required to match an increasing proportion of the salary awarded over a 4-year period; in the fifth year of the grant, the grantee must absorb the entire cost of any positions awarded as a result of the grant.
The Federal share of salaries and associated benefits is limited to a total of $100,000 per position over the course of the performance period. There is no funding limit for any application or any limit to the number of positions eligible for funding per application. However, applicants requesting large numbers of firefighters must make a strong case for their request.
2. Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity. The goal of this activity is to create a net increase in the number of trained, certified, and competent firefighters capable of responding to emergencies likely to occur within the fire department geographic response area and safely. The primary focus is the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with or trained in the operations of firefighting and emergency response. Volunteer, paid-on-call, and combination fire departments as well as local and statewide volunteer firefighter interest organizations are eligible to receive grants in this Activity. With proper justification, applications for assistance in the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters could include activities that would require as many as four years to complete. There is no local match requirement for this activity and there are no maximum Federal share limits.
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Who is eligible for SAFER funding?
Your type of organization affects your eligibility for funding. All volunteer and combination fire departments may apply for either or both of the two grant program activities. Volunteer firefighter interest organizations are eligible for funding only in the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity. Career fire departments are eligible for funding only in the Hiring of Firefighters Activity.
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When can I apply?
From 8 a.m. (EDT), May 31, 2005, until 5 p.m. (EDT) on June 28, 2005.
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When is the grant application due?
The application deadline is June 28, 2005. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. EDT. Applications received after the close of the application period will not be accepted.
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May I submit more than one grant application?
You may submit only one funding application to SAFER. If an applicant is found to have submitted more than one application for SAFER funding, all of its applications will be deemed ineligible.
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If I received a grant last fall and/or spring, can I still apply for SAFER funding?
Yes. While the SAFER grants and the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) are administered by the same office in the Department of Homeland Security, there are no restrictions with respect to awards between the two funding sources.
Pre-award expenditures in both the Hiring of Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activities may be eligible for funding if they meet the following criteria:
- The expenditures occurred after the end of the application period (June 28, 2005); and
- There was an urgent and compelling reason for the expenditures.
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If I am awarded new firefighter positions and can hire them before the end of the 90-day recruitment period, at my own cost, will I receive credit for that period of time?
Yes. If you are able to hire the new firefighters before the end of the 90-day recruitment period, an equal time period will be subtracted from the last (fifth) year of the period of performance when grantees must absorb the entire cost of the new positions. The grantee must request that consideration be given for pre-award credit in order to receive the credit.
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