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SUMMARY: FEMA, is publishing this final rule to establish guidance on our program to make grants directly to fire departments of a State for the purpose of enhancing their ability to protect the health and safety of the public as well as that of firefighting personnel facing fire and fire-related hazards. These grants are awarded on a competitive basis to eligible applicants that most closely address the program’s priorities and then demonstrate financial need and maximize the benefit to be derived from the grant funds. The program’s priorities will be stated in the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) that we will publish pursuant to the program’s annual appropriation.

1. (a) Applicants must:

1. (1) Share in the costs of the projects funded under this grant program. Fire departments in areas serving populations over 50,000 must agree to match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to thirty (30) percent of the total project cost. Fire departments serving areas with a population of 50,000 or less will have to match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to ten (10) percent of the total project cost. No waivers of this requirement will be granted except for fire departments of Insular Areas as provided for in 48 U.S.C. 1469a.
2. (2) Maintain operating expenditures during the grant’s period of performance in the areas funded by a grant at a level equal to or greater than the average of their operating expenditures in the two years preceding the year in which this assistance is received.
3. (3) Obtain the appropriate Federal, State, or local permits necessary to fulfill the grant’s scope of work including historical and/or environmental clearances as required.
4. (4) Retain grant files and supporting documentation for three years after the official closeout of the grant.
5. (5) Report to FEMA on the progress made on the grant and financial status of the grant. The award documents will detail the specific period of performance for each grantee and provide instructions on the frequency and timing of the required performance reports.
6. (6) Maintain documentation to support the expenditure of grant funds as well as pertinent grant decisions.

1. (7) Make their grant files and other books and records related to the grant, available if requested for an audit to ensure compliance with any requirement of the grant program.
2. (8) Agree to provide information to the USFA’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) for the period covered by the grant. 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 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.]

(c) FEMA Activities:

1. (1) We will ensure that the funds are awarded based on the priorities and expected benefits articulated in the statute, this part, USFA’s strategic plan, and the Notice of Funds Availability.
2. (2) We will ensure that not more than twenty-five (25) percent of the appropriated funding will be used to purchase firefighting vehicles.
3. (3) We will ensure that not less than five (5) percent of the funds are made available to national, State, local, or community organizations, including fire departments, for the purpose of carrying out fire prevention programs.
4. (4) We will ensure that fire departments with volunteer staff, or staff comprised of a combination of career fire fighters and volunteers, receive a proportion of

1. the total grant funding that is not less than the proportion of the United States population that those firefighting departments protect.
2. (5) We will ensure that grants are made to fire departments located in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
3. (6) We will strive to ensure geographic diversity of awards as stipulated in §152.6.
4. (7) We will strive to ensure that activities funded under this grant program are consistent with the programs goals and intent, and generally in the government’s best interest.
5. (8) We will provide the chief executives of the States with information concerning the total number and dollar amount of awards made to fire departments in their States; the program areas and activities supported by these grants; and other information about specific awards when generated and available.

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1. (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.

1. (b) Generally, fire departments cannot use grant funds to pay for products 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.
2. (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.
3. (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.
4. (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

1. request the balance of the federal share upon delivery of the ordered equipment or vehicle.
2. (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.
3. (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.]

§ 152.8 Application submission and deadline.

In each year that this program is authorized and receives an appropriation, we will announce the grants availability via Notice of Funds Availability. That Notice will contain all pertinent information concerning the eligible funding activities, funding priorities, funding levels, application period, timelines, and deadlines.

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