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Never Forget 343
Gave It All On
 9-11-2001

Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program (AFGP)

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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Fire Station Construction Grant (FSCG)
May 29 2009

MFSN Editors NOTE:

Link for this ARRA FSC program guidance document.

http://minnesotafireservice.com/pubs_open/FY09-ARRA-FSC-Guidance_FINAL.pdf


As of 5-21-2009 the plans for the Fire Station Construction Grant are as follows.
  • Will issue grant guidance end of June 2009
  • Receipt grant applications July 2nd thru September 29, 2009
  • Grants will be awarded Oct 15th - December 31, 2009

MAIN MENU

  1. 2009 Workshop Locations
  2. 2009 Workshop Notes and Handouts
  3. Comprehensive Driver Program
  4. How Long Should It take To Sign An Apparatus Contract?
  5. Wondering about low bid and the AFG program?  Click here.
  6. 1199a and Email Questions from the AFG
  7. 2008 Workshop Notes, Handouts and Guidance Document
  8. Laws, standards, 3rd party gap analysis and statistical data needed for your application
  9. NFPA Standards List
  10. Federal requirements for vehicles and radios needed for your application
  11. MN Statewide Radio Board
  12. FDID and DUNS Numbers Screen shots from the online application
  13. Critical Infrastructure Counties
  14. Regional Project Tips - Click here
  15. Narrative tips and samples
  16. Grant writers and general grant writing tips
  17. The panel review process and scoring
  18. Information from past years
  19. The team that makes it happen and writes the AFG program
  20. AFGP 2001-2007 Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - Click here
  21. AFGP 2005 Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - Click here
  22. AFGP 2006 Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - Click here
  23. AFGP 2007 Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - Click here
  24. AFGP 2008 Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - Click here
  25. Legislation Affecting the AFG Program

Minnesota Help

Warren Jorgenson 320-894-5071
wrjorgen@tds.net
Bruce Roed 218-686-7233 broed@gvtel.com
Dan Roeglin 651-649-5450 dan.roeglin@so.mnscu.edu
 
AFG Help Desk 1-866-274-0960

Title 44--Emergency Management and Assistance

CHAPTER I--FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

PART 152--ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM

TEXT PDF 152.1 Purpose and eligible uses of grant funds.
TEXT PDF 152.2 Definitions.
TEXT PDF 152.3 Availability of funds.
TEXT PDF 152.4 Roles and responsibilities.
TEXT PDF 152.5 Review process and evaluation criteria.
TEXT PDF 152.6 Application review and award process.
TEXT PDF 152.7 Grant payment, reporting and other requirements.
TEXT PDF 152.8 Application submission and deadline.
TEXT PDF 152.9 Reconsideration.

Comprehensive Driver Program - Information on how to comply.
The Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) program requires a comprehensive driver training program if you are awarded a vehicle. This document will provide guidance as how you can comply.
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2009 Workshop Notes and Handouts



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2008 Workshop Notes and Handouts


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General Information Needed For 2008 Application

Standards and Laws

  • General Duty Clause (Minnesota Statute 182.653 Subd. 2)  - Click here
  • MN Law Requiring Two Apparatuses 069.11Sub(4) f. - Click here
    • NOTE: This law pertains to qualifying for state aid.

OSHA & NIOSH

3rd Party Gap Analysis and Statistical Data

  • Insurance Service Organization (ISO) - Click here
  • League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust LMCIT - Trends in Firefighter Injuries Report  - The following is a summary of findings from a recent LMCIT study of firefighter injuries in Minnesota. LMCIT is still considering options for publishing a full report and possible injury prevention techniques. More information on the study will be presented at LMCIT's annual loss control workshops, located around the state in March and April (there's a fire track as part of the workshops this year). Registration is open at www.lmnc.org. Questions on the study or findings can be directed to Ann Gergen, LMCIT Associate Administrator, at 651-281-1291 or agergen@lmnc.org.
  • LMCIT’s firefighter injury evaluation includes data from 290 lost-time firefighter work comp claims from injuries that occurred between 2002 and 2006, excluding high-cost claims exceeding $50,000 (there are so few of these claims and the dollar amount is so great, including them would skew the findings).  Claims included in this analysis had a total incurred value of approximately $10.1 million.  Previous LMCIT research showed no significant differences in injuries based on firefighter status as full-time, paid-on-call, or volunteer.  Costs and claims from all firefighters have been combined for purposes of our analysis.
NFPA Standards
  • List of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards - Click here
  • Vehicle Safety Requirements for 2009 in NFPA 1500 Chapter 6
  • NFPA 1901 Ch 5 Minimum equipment on engines/pumpers - Click here
  • NFPA 1901 Ch 9 Minimum equipment on quints - Click here
  • NFPA 1901 Ch 7 Minimum equipment on tenders - Click here
  • NFPA 1901 Ch 8 Minimum equipment on aerials - Click here
  • NFPA 1906 Ch   5 Vehicle requirements for wildland vehicles - Click here
  • NFPA 1906 Ch 10 Minimum equipment on wildland vehicles - Click here
  • NFPA has made all of their standards available on-line (with or without NFPA membership). You can view the standard(s) but you cannot print, download, or "cut & paste" the language.  Here is how it works: Go to:http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/list_of_codes_and_standards.asp
    Select the document you want to review.  Scroll down to the heading "Additional information about this document" and click on the link "Preview this document".
    Click on "I agree".
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Federal Requirements

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  • Statewide Radio Coordination Board and Plan - Click here
Scott Wiggins
MN Department of Public Safety
ARMER Program Director
Scott.Wiggins@state.mn.us
651-201-7546

Interim Coordinator:
Tom Johnson
MN Department of Public Safety
444 Cedar Street, Suite 137
St. Paul, MN  55101
Ofc.  (651) 201-7552
tom.m.johnson@state.mn.us


Statewide Communication Interoperability Plan "SCIP"
     *Regional SCIP Presentation

     *Homeland Security - SAFECOM Criteria 

     *Q & A
What is Required for P25 Compliance?
At a minimum, a P25 radio system must provide interoperability with these two mandatory P25 Standard interface components:
  • The Common Air Interface (CAI)
  • The Improved Multi-Band Excitation (IMBE) vocoder
The CAI enables P25 radios to interoperate and communicate digitally across P25 networks and directly. This portion of the P25 standard suite was selected to meet the unique radio system needs of the public safety environment; coverage reliability, system design flexibility, and inter-vendor compatibility.

The IMBE vocoder sets a uniform standard for converting speech into the digital bitstream. IMBE was selected as the coding scheme most successful at making male and female voices audible against background noises such as moving vehicles, sirens, gunshots, and traffic noise – the conditions of public safety use.

These two components, when used together enable P25 users to interoperate and communicate digitally directly between units and across networks, agencies, and vendors.

P25 has also defined standard modes of operation to enable multi-vendor interoperability for additional system functions: trunking, encryption, over-the-air rekeying, to name a few.

Project 25 also continues to develop a set of defined system interfaces allow the P25 system elements to communicate with host computers, data terminals and the public switched telephone network (PSTN). These interfaces are critical to assure that P25 systems maintain compatibility with the evolving telecommunications and data-communications world.

http://www.project25.org/index.php



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Application Screens

  • On Line Application Web Site - Click here
  • Get a D&B D-U-N-S Number  - Click here
  • Your Fire Departments Identification Number  FDID Number
  • Your Fire Departments Identification Number (FDID is the same as NFIRS)  FDID Number

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Critical Infrastructure

Does your organization protect critical infrastructure of the state?  YES

AS OF 2009 ALL MN COUNTIES HAVE CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE - HSEM



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Narrative Tips

  • AFG Narrative Samples MN Winners - Click here

  • For Specific Tips To Match Questions (Important) - Click here

  • Sample Winning Narratives From The Idea Bank - Click here

  • SAFER Narrative Tips - Click here


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Grant Writers and Grant Writing

  • General Information on Grant Writing - Click here
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The Panel Review Process

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  •  Past Award Rounds

    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2008
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2007
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2006
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2005
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2004
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2003
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2002
    • AFGP Awards to Minnesota Fire Departments - 2001
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How Long Should It take To Sign An Apparatus Contract?

AFG Staff Responds

We recognize that normal build times for custom/semi-custom fire apparatus is 270 to 360 days depending on the type of vehicle and the various specifications included in the vehicle. 

We also recognize that the Federal government requires open and fair competition which can take 30 to 60 days.  Given these two ‘givens’, it is not always possible to have a vehicle purchased and delivered within the 12-month performance period provided with the grants.  BUT, there is very little excuse for not completing the project within 15 months. 

We are willing to work with grantees that need the extra three months IF the grantee does everything in their power to assure that the project is completed in the most expeditious manner. 

We see no reason why a vehicle grantee couldn’t meet the following schedule:  develop specs and advertise their purchase within the first 30 days of the performance period; receive and evaluate bid proposals within 60 days; and, sign a contract for purchase within 90 days.

In the past, we’ve heard the excuses like, “We’ve never had the opportunity to buy a new vehicle before, so we wanted to make sure the vehicle meets all of our needs.”  But wrestling over the placement of the chrome bell shouldn’t take the entire 12-month performance period. 

All awards are made on the premise of urgency, i.e., based on claims that if the applicant doesn’t replace this vehicle immediately, lives will be lost. 

If a grantee has the luxury of delaying action on their vehicle award, then we believe we have reasonable doubt about any statements in their application regarding the urgency.    

If a grantee doesn’t get a signed contract within 90 days, they should hope that their build time is relatively short. 

Currently, grantees that seek extensions to their period of performance when little or nothing has been done during the original POP are being denied and the grantee is being instructed to find a commercial vehicle that fits their scope of work.


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Legislation Affecting the AFG Program

Internet Site for the OMB budget documents follows:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/browse.html
Office of Management and Budget --budget documents.

AFG Program Information

SAFER Program Information

Fire Prevention and Safety Grants

 


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