WINNING NARRATIVE 2008


Project Description
* Please indicate which of these Target Capabilities your request outlined in this application will satisfy. Check all that
apply:
* Please provide your narrative statement in the space provided below. Include in your narrative, details regarding (1)
your project’s description and budget, (2) your organization’s financial need, (3) the benefit to be derived from the cost
of your project, and (4) how the activities requested in your application will help your organization’s daily operations and
how this grant will protect life and property.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

After carefully evaluating the goals, objectives, and needs of the fire department and how to best serve the community,
the XXX Fire and Rescue Department (XXX MN) is requesting funding under the FIREFIGHTING VEHICLE
ACQUISITION PROGRAM CATEGORY.

The XXX Fire and Rescue Department has carefully analyzed all of its priorities and has determined that the following
request will best allow us to fulfill our mission of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public and reducing the
loss of lives, while providing the safest situation possible for our firefighters. The requested funding will also fulfill the
priorities as outlined by FEMA to protect the health and safety of firefighters as well as enhance the safety and
effectiveness of firefighting or rescue activities. The request is as follows:

1. Purchase of a Freightliner M2 106 with a conventional chassis, 2,000 GALLON TANKER/ PUMPER (750 GALLONS
PER MINUTE)
- The request would be to acquire a new TANKER/PUMPER VEHICLE. We currently have a 29 year old tanker truck
that is nothing more than a modified milk truck. It has no baffles inside the tank. If you have half a load of water and
drive down the road, you'll feel it! The tank itself is deteriorating so bad that when one of our firefighters crawled inside
to patch a leak, he could literally push his finger through the bottom. The truck itself is also in need of constant repair
and maintenance.

The tanker only holds 2,000 gallons of water and is outdated and does not meet any current NFPA
standards. The new Tanker/Tender that we are requesting funding for is absolutely necessary for a number of reasons.
It will transport two firefighters, as well as critical equipment to all fire scenes and most importantly it will provide a
much needed water source for fire suppression. XXX is located in a river valley and the fire department takes
care of a lot of DNR land.

This truck could bring in water quickly to a possible river valley fire. In 2006, close to 400
acres burned north of XXX, and we struggled to bring water to the scene. Our old tanker simply did not provide
us with adequate water. In addition to being a back-up water source, the Tanker/Pumper will also service in quick
attack situations.

The XXX Fire and Rescue Department feels very strongly that this vehicle is necessary and a
cost effective approach to ensuring the health and safety of the public, as well as being able to complete fire and
rescue operations as quickly as possible and at minimum risk to our firefighters.

The new vehicle that we are requesting funding for will meet all NFPA 1901 and 1906 standards. It should also be
noted that this meets the requirement of being a Priority One for AFG funds. The new vehicle will be replacing the existing
 one, which will be sold or donated for some other purpose not related to fire operations.

PLANNED USE OF THE GRANT FUNDS FOR EACH MAJOR BUDGET CATEGORY AS
LISTED ON THE BUDGET FORM.

The XXX Fire and Rescue Department has determined that the following price represents fair and reasonable
costs necessary to purchase the above reference vehicle, and are requesting grant funding in the following amounts:

PURCHASE OF A 2,000 GALLON TANKER/ PUMPER (750 GALLONS PER MINUTE);
Total Cost - $145,000.00;
The XXX Fire and Rescue Department is committed to paying for its share of the cost equal to 5% or $7,250.00.


FINANCIAL NEED

The City of XXX and XXX Township fund the XXX
Fire Department through the collection of local taxes. In 2000, the State of Minnesota significantly overhauled the way
property taxes were classified, causing a decrease in local taxes up to 20%, and while XXX is growing, the
growth has not kept pace with the amount of taxes lost due to property tax changes.

In addition to the property tax overhaul, in 2003, the State of Minnesota cut Local Government Aid (LGA),
which is a state program that provides funding to communities in rural areas and inner cities.

The cutting of this program has had a severe impact on rural communities, including XXX. In recent years – 2005
and 2006 the City of XXX has significantly increased their tax capacity in order to pay for much needed water and
sewer projects in the community.

The City will no longer be able to fund the Fire Department as it has in the past due to all of the factors mentioned above.

The City is able to help the Fire Department pay for some training and maintenance costs related to the Fire Hall.

A number of years ago, the XXX Fire Department had the foresight to put in place a Capital Equipment Fund that the
Department uses to purchase new vehicles and necessary equipment. The funding sources for the Capital Equipment fund
vary but include fundraisers, donations, and money from the City of XXX and XXX Township.

In 2003, the XXX Fire Department purchased a greatly needed multi-purpose Rescue/command center vehicle using
money from the Capital Equipment Fund, which depleted this fund, and given the loss of revenue from the City, we will
not be able to consider any other vehicle or large equipment purchases over the next five to ten years WITHOUT
THE ASSISTANCE OF THE AFG GRANT.

In addition to setting money aside to replenish the Capital Equipment Fund, we also place a very high
priority on adequate training of our firefighter personnel and utilize our funds to train our personnel, as well as for other
expenditures.

The XXX Fire Department has a dedicated group of firefighters who run a progressive, fiscally
responsible department that raises money as much as possible through fundraisers, and donations and carefully plans
for future needs.

However other sources of funding such as the AFG grant will go a long way in providing this
necessary vehicle for our department. The AFG funds provide a very cost effective approach to purchasing the
Tanker/Pumper. The request for funding amounts to $137,750 (federal share).

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS:

The following demonstrates the cost effectiveness of requesting this money from AFG.
$137,750 - Federal Share
2100- Primary service area population.
$137,750/2100 = $65.60/20 years (avg. life of vehicle) = $3.27 PER PERSON IN PRIMARY AREA SERVED OVER A
PERIOD OF 20 YEARS.

The actual impact would be even more efficient if you were to look at the mutual aid areas.

This just emphasizes how great an impact this vehicle would have, and at a very minimal cost to serve the general public.

This is not money we could raise locally the same way.

Without the money from AFG, XXX Fire and Rescue would not be able to replace this vehicle or others in its fleet in a
timely manner.

By receiving money through AFG, the XXX Fire and Rescue Department can better plan for their next purchase and
reprioritize their other needs so that the vehicles and equipment can be purchased in a timely manner and continue to
protect the health, safety and welfare of the public and firefighting personnel.


STATEMENT OF EFFECT -

XXX Fire and Rescue Department's primary service area is rapidly growing due to its proximity to both
the Minneapolis/St Paul area (about XXX miles away), and to the XXX area (XXX is a
regional center) approximately 30 miles away.

There has been a significant amount of housing being constructed in the area and the amount of traffic has
dramatically increased since the opening of the Highway XXX bridge, which brings
commuters, semi-trucks and other traffic through downtown XXX.

It is expected that this growth trend will continue as more people move out of the larger cities to the more rural areas in and around XXX.

In addition to the growth in the primary service area, the XXX Fire Department has mutual aid agreements with several
townships and cities in both XXX and XXX County.

These factors have a direct impact on the amount of fire calls our department is expected to handle.

Therefore it is extremely critical that XXX Fire and Rescue Department has the proper vehicles that will
aid in the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the general public; and that the
XXX Fire and Rescue Department needs to make sure that our own firefighters are adequately protected and
can get on scene as quickly as possible, and that we have the necessary water supply to fight fires.

The current tanker truck is unsafe, outdated and does not provide us with an adequate water supply or any pumping capability.

This is cause for great concern to us because of the situations we have previously described in the Project description section.

With the purchase of the new TANKER/PUMPER we will be able to eliminate those concerns and be able to do our
jobs at a level that will give us the greatest chance of putting out fires quickly and reducing the loss of lives.

After reviewing all of our needs, we feel that this is the most pressing need that we have and will benefit the overall
community greatly, as well as provide a service to all of our mutual aid partners.

We would like to stress that our needs are very basic and necessary to protecting our firefighting personnel and
others, and your consideration of our request is greatly appreciated.