San Bernardino County Fire Department Receives AFG and SAFER Grants

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FEMA GRANTS ASSIST FIRE DEPARTMENTS WITH FUNDING

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is helping fire service agencies with their equipment, staffing and public education needs through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Through this program, each year FEMA offers three types of grants to fire departments in order to enhance their abilities to protect first responders and the public from fire and fire-related hazards. These grants include the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant (FP&S), and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER).

AFG Grant

Each grant assists fire departments with funding in different areas. Since 2001, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) has helped firefighters and other first responder to obtain equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles and training. One Southern California fire service agency, the San Bernardino County Fire Department, received two AFG grants in Fiscal Year 2008, totaling nearly $1 Million. According to Tracey Martinez, the PIO for San Bernardino County F.D., these grants are being used to purchase 3 state-of-the-art driving simulators and 44 mobile command center computers for chief officer vehicles.

The grant for the driving simulators was over $600,000, and the fire department was required to match approximately $150,000 in funding. The simulators will be placed in a 48' trailer and will be taken to fire stations throughout San Bernardino County, which is the largest county in the continental United States. Captain Jeff Birchfield of the San Bernardino County Fire Department explains how they will be used, saying, "What we're able to do is look at our students and how they drive. We don't teach them how to drive specifically with the simulator. We teach them how to make the better decisions when they come across the traffic situations."

The second AFG grant that FEMA awarded to the fire department is being used to outfit chief fire officer vehicles with 44 mobile data computers. The grant was awarded for over $340,000, and the department matched it with $84,000 in funding. San Bernardino County Fire Department is part of Consolidated Fire Agencies of the East Valley (CON/FIRE), and according to San Bernardino County Battalion Chief Daniel Odom, 24 of the computers will be installed in San Bernardino County Fire Department's command vehicles, and the remainder will be installed in CON/FIRE Vehicles.

SAFER Grant

SAFER grants are another component to FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. They are designed to provide funds to both career and volunteer fire departments to help them increase their number of trained "first line" first responders. SAFER grants are used by fire departments for the staffing and training of firefighters. In Fiscal Year 2008, the San Bernardino County Fire Department was awarded $530,000 through SAFER and the department was not required to match these funds for the 2 year grant, which was a blessing in these tough economic times. According to Tracey Martinez, "The SAFER grant money is going to be used towards our Paid Call Firefighter Program to recruit, to train, and to retain our Paid Call Firefighters. Mainly our Paid Call Firefighters operate in our outlying stations in communities that don't have enough funding to have full-time firefighters in the area." Currently the department has 300 Paid Call Firefighters. Martinez says that a portion of the SAFER grant will also be used for the fire department's Explorer Program.

FP&S Grant

The third grant offered by FEMA is the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant. It is intended to support projects that enhance the safety of first responders and the public, and historically it has been used to fund fire prevention and fire safety education, juvenile fire setter interventions, media campaigns, and arson awareness and prevention programs.

How To Apply for FEMA Grants

The deadline for the AFG grant is May 20, 2009 at 5 p.m. EST. For more information on how to apply visit: www.firegrantsupport.com/afg/.

The next application period for the SAFER grant will take place in Summer 2009. For more information on how to apply visit: www.firegrantsupport.com/safer/.

The next application period for the FP&S grant will take place in Fall 2009. For more information on how to apply visit: www.firegrantsupport.com/fps/.