[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 164 (Friday, August 23, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54654-54656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21504]


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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY


Assistance to Firefighters--Fire Prevention and Safety Program

AGENCY: U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: FEMA gives notice of the availability of funds for FY 2002 
under the Assistance to Firefighters Fire Prevention and Safety Program 
(the Program) as authorized the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act 
of 1974. The Program will make available up to $10,000,000 of the total 
appropriated amount of $360,000,000 for fire prevention activities. 
FEMA will fund such activities based upon proposals that address the 
Program's priorities and maximize the benefits to be derived from the 
funds. FEMA is statutorily mandated to provide these funds to national, 
State, local, or community organizations that are recognized for their 
experience and expertise with respect to fire prevention or fire safety 
programs and activities. In selecting recipients, FEMA will give 
priority to organizations that focus on prevention of fire (or fire-
related) injuries to children.

    Authority: Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 
(Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act) 1701(a), 15 U.S.C. 2229 
(2000).

DATES: This notice of funds availability is effective August 23, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Cowan, Director, Grants Program 
Office, U.S. Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
Room 304, 500 C St. SW., Washington DC 20472, 1-866-274-0960, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Purpose

    The purpose of this notice is to advise of the availability of 
funds for carrying out fire prevention activities pursuant to section 
1701(a) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act, 15 U.S.C. 2229. 
Up to ten million dollars ($10,000,000) will be available for this 
purpose. FEMA reserves the right to use a portion of these funds to 
supplement previously awarded prevention grants.

B. Eligibility

    National, State, local, or community organizations that are 
recognized for their experience and expertise in fire prevention or 
safety programs and activities are eligible to apply for funding 
through the Program.

C. Program Requirements

    1. Recipients of grants or parties entering into cooperative 
agreements through the Program may not receive more than $750,000 and 
must agree to maintain in the fiscal year for which the assistance will 
be received their aggregate expenditures for fire prevention activities 
at or above the average level of such expenditures in the two fiscal 
years preceding the fiscal year for which the assistance will be 
received. They must also agree to a match with non-Federal funds an 
amount of 30 percent of the assistance received or, in the case of fire 
departments whose personnel serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or fewer 
residents, an amount of 10 percent of the assistance received. The 
matching requirement may be met through in-kind contributions.
    2. FEMA may, in its discretion, also enter into contracts for fire 
prevention activities in order to achieve overall program goals. These 
contracts may not be subject to the limitations and requirements set 
forth in the previous paragraph.
    3. Fire Departments that receive assistance through the Program 
must provide information to the national fire incident reporting system 
(NFIRS) for the period covered by the assistance.
    4. Grantees must submit a report to the Director describing how 
their assistance was used and of the benefits derived from the funded 
activities.

D. Application Process

    Through the interim final rule for the Assistance to Firefighters 
Program published on February 27, 2002 in the Federal Register, FEMA 
invited letters of interest from organizations that wished to be 
considered for the funding through the Program. Letters were requested 
to reflect in general terms the content and context of proposed 
activities. FEMA will send application packets to organizations that 
submitted letters of interest and to organizations known to be 
experienced in the fire prevention/safety field. Additionally, other 
eligible organizations, as specified above in Section B, may request

[[Page 54655]]

applications by e-mail [email protected] or by phone 866-274-0960. 
Completed application packages must be received by FEMA on or before 
September 23, 2002.
    Applicants will be required to submit an application to FEMA that 
includes the following:
    1. Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form 424;
    2. Budget Information--Non-construction Program, FEMA Form 20-20;
    3. Direct Deposit Sign-up Form, Standard Form 1199A;
    4. Summary Sheet for Assurances and Certification, FEMA Form 20-16, 
20-16A, and 20-16C;
    5. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, Standard Form LLL; and
    6. Program Narrative: The narrative describing the activities for 
which the funding is requested should not exceed 10 pages (double-
spaced with one-inch margins and 12-point font). The narrative should 
also address the eligible activities, program priorities, and 
evaluation criteria included in Sections E and F.
    Application packages will be reviewed for completeness and 
responsiveness to the following program requirements:
    (a) General Information such as the history and description of your 
organization; a statement regarding the financial need of your 
organization and funding sources; your organization's capability to 
achieve proposed objectives and past successes at achievement of 
project goals; your organization's experience as it specifically 
relates to fire and injury prevention issues; and the qualifications of 
the project manager and primary team members.
    (b) A project overview, which includes, but is not limited to: a 
problem statement, including the issues to be addressed, project goals 
and objectives or tasks to achieve the goals; a description of what 
will be accomplished during the grant performance period and an 
explanation of how the project will address the stated problem; a 
project description addressing the following questions as applicable:
    (1) Will this establish a new program, expand an existing program 
into new areas; or augment an existing fire prevention program?
    (2) Who is the target audience: FEMA-identified target population 
(children under the age of 14, seniors over 65 years of age, and 
firefighters), or another high-risk population?
    (3) Will this program enhance the FEMA fire safety campaign to 
assist Americans in installing smoke alarms (as well as checking 
detectors and batteries to make sure they work), planning and 
practicing escape routes, and conducting home fire safety walkthroughs? 
If so, describe how.
    (4) Will this program establish a multi-organization partnership 
with other groups in the community? If so describe how.
    (c) List of Project benchmarks, phases, or milestones.
    (d) Describe the method or procedure for implementation of your 
project.
    (e) Include a detailed explanation of your project's budget 
including a cost-benefit assessment. The explanation should compare the 
benefits to be realized with the costs of achieving those benefits.
    (f) If the program will be continued beyond the grant period, 
include an explanation of the means with which it will be sustained.
    (g) Describe the methodology that will be used to assess and 
evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

E. Eligible Activities and Program Priorities

    Fire prevention and safety programs are the only eligible 
activities under the Program and, in particular, those that will reach 
a significant number of individuals.
    FEMA will give priority to programs that focus on the prevention of 
fire-related injuries to children. Although other programs that address 
fire prevention and safety may also be considered, the following list 
provides examples of programs that FEMA deems to be a high funding 
priority:
    (1) Projects that focus on distributing smoke detectors and 
checking to assure detectors are operational, planning and practicing 
escape routes, or conducting home fire safety walkthroughs;
    (2) Fire prevention programs targeting high-risk audiences, 
including those that:
    (a) Enhance national, state, or local efforts to reduce fires and 
burn injuries affecting children under the age of 14 or adults over 65.
    (b) Target geographical areas with a higher incidence of fire 
related deaths and injuries based on a five-year history of data from 
NFIRS or other national data centers (either in absolute numbers or per 
capita).
    (c) Include the translation or development of public education 
materials aimed at high-risk populations. There is a higher emphasis on 
development of educational materials in languages other than English or 
Spanish (because development of these types of materials were funded in 
FY 01), although purchasing and distributing educational materials in 
any language are eligible.
    (d) Develop fire prevention material using universal signs and 
symbols that do not include any language or are complete regardless of 
the language.
    (3) Projects in urban neighborhoods that target at-risk 
populations, involve a partnership or consortium made up of local 
organizations, such as fire departments, civic organizations, high 
schools or citizen's task forces, and that include conducting door-to-
door home safety checks and distributing smoke detectors and batteries 
to at least 50 percent of the residents of the neighborhood.
    (4) Projects that affect the entire community such as educating the 
public about residential sprinklers, promoting residential sprinklers, 
and demonstrating working models of residential sprinklers, adopting or 
strengthening building codes and enforcement, improving engineering, 
and enacting fire-related ordinances for new construction are 
encouraged.
    (5) FEMA will consider innovative projects that have a high 
probability of successfully achieving the Program goals. FEMA reserves 
the right to work with applicants in developing programs proposed in 
their applications.

F. Evaluation Criteria

    Proposals will be reviewed to determine the degree to which they 
address the following:
    (1) Involves a partnership between the fire department and the 
community in planning and practicing escape routes or conducting home 
fire safety walkthroughs;
    (2) Targets geographical areas with a higher incidence of fire 
related deaths and injuries based on a five-year history of data from 
NFIRS or other national data centers (either in numbers or in per 
capita);
    (3) Is designed to correct problems based on regional or local 
trends based on fire loss data;
    (4) Proposes a program that will be sustained beyond the grant 
performance period and has a greater potential for long-term benefits;
    (5) The Project describes a sound planned approach for getting the 
prevention message to targeted audiences;
    (6) The Project presents a high benefit for the cost incurred and 
has minimal overhead or administrative costs;
    (7) Comes from an organization with a successful track record and 
is capable of implementing the fire safety program that will help 
achieve program goals;

[[Page 54656]]

    (8) Contributes to the national or local effort on fire and burn 
injury prevention to children under the age of 14 or other at-risk 
groups; and
    (9) Has a high potential for achieving the overall goals and 
priorities of the Firefighters Assistance Grant Program and the USFA.
    FEMA will use the above criteria in making the funding decisions. 
FEMA considers these criteria to be of equal weight. In general, 
proposals that adequately address more of the criteria, and meet the 
program priorities, will be more likely to receive favorable 
consideration. FEMA intends to use non-federal experts to assist with 
the preliminary review of proposals. FEMA will use the expert analysis 
as part of the basis for its decisions. In addition, in making final 
decisions on funding, FEMA reserves the right to fund a variety of 
projects consistent with section E above.

    Dated: August 19, 2002.
R. David Paulison,
Administrator, United States Fire Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-21504 Filed 8-22-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6718-02-P