WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Congressman Phil Roe, M.D. (TN-01) announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released the Funding Opportunity Announcement and application materials under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program (SAFER).  The application period for the FY 2011 SAFER Program will open on Monday, January 30, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. EST and will close on February 24, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. EST. 

“I am pleased new grant funding is available for our hardworking first responders in the First District of Tennessee,” said Roe.  “Our first responders on the front line of duty deserve the staff and equipment needed to ensure our communities are safe. If qualified, please sign up for a SAFER grant through FEMA before the deadline, and as always, let us know if our office can be of any assistance.”  

Background:

The purpose of these grants is to improve or restore local fire departments’ staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively respond to emergencies.  SAFER offers grants to support activities in two categories: 1) Hiring of Firefighters and 2) Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters.

The Hiring of Firefighters grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase frontline firefighters, rehire firefighters that have been laid off, retain firefighters facing imminent layoffs, or fill positions that were vacated through attrition.  With the enhanced or restored staffing, a SAFER grantee’s response time will be reduced sufficiently and an appropriate number of trained personnel will be assembled at the incident scene. One hundred percent of the actual salary and benefits for the SAFER-funded firefighters will be fully funded for the two-year period of performance.

The Recruitment and Retention grants assist fire departments with the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters who are involved with, or trained in, the operations of firefighting and emergency response. The grants are intended to create a net increase in the number of trained, certified, and competent firefighters capable of safely responding to emergencies likely to occur within the grantee’s geographic response area.  One hundred percent funding is provided for periods of up to four years.

Funding Information:

The Department will award approximately $380 million in SAFER grants.

Contact Information:

For additional information, please visit www.fema.gov/firegrants or contact Chris Rizzuto at 202-786-9450 or Andrew White at 202-646-3183.

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