TITLE
The Mayor and City Council shall discuss and possibly take action to ratify the submission of a grant application (EMW-2015-FH-00425) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program for the addition of 2 Firefighters to MFD in the amount of $333,864. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA), Grant Programs Directorate (GPD) is responsible for the implementation and administration of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. The purpose of SAFER Grants is to provide funding directly to fire departments and national, state, local, or tribal organizations representing the interests of volunteer firefighters to assist them in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments. FEMA has an estimated $340,000,000 in program funding for the hiring, retention and recruitment of firefighters.
To achieve this purpose, SAFER is a competitive/discretionary grant program comprised of two categories:
1. Hiring of Firefighters Grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments rehire firefighters who have been laid off, retain firefighters facing imminent layoffs, fill positions that were vacated through attrition, or hire new firefighters. The goal is to assist departments to improve or restore staffing levels to ensure they have adequate personnel to respond and safely perform at incident scenes, providing protection from fire and fire-related hazards in their communities. This category provides two-year grants to assist fire departments by paying the salaries and benefits of the SAFER-funded positions.
2. Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Grants assist fire departments and national, state, local, or tribal organizations with the recruitment and/or retention of volunteer firefighters. The goal is 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 fire department's geographic response area. Recruitment and Retention Grants can have a period of performance of up to four years.
The period of the grant performance is 24 months for all grants awarded under this category. A default 180-day recruitment period begins when an application is approved for award under this category. The 2 year period starts after the 180 day recruitment regardless of whether the grantee has successfully hired the requested firefighters.
There is no matching requirement for the two years performance period however grantees must retain all SAFER funder positions throughout the grant's full two year period of performance. Once the grant period ends awarded recipients have no obligation to retain the SAFER Funded positions.
The request for 2 firefighters in the SAFER grant is based on the rationale that two are necessary to comply with nationally recommended NFPA and OSHA staffing level standards and regulations. The additional requested personnel ensure maximum safety practices are implemented greatly benefitting all Maricopa Fire Department personnel and the community.
These additional personnel provide the ability to regularly maintain the NFPA acceptable fire apparatus staffing levels to four personnel per fire apparatus. Additional personnel will also sustain adherence the "two in two out" NFPA & OSHA (NFPA 1405, NFPA 1500. NFPA 1710 and OSHA CFR 1910.156) standard for entering building fires and other hazardous environments. The additional personnel also provide a greater "pool" of employees to staff special events, training opportunities and other necessary additional staffing aspects. The department currently possesses a policy of personnel not working more than 80 consecutive hours due to safety reasons, this limit reduces the pool of personnel able to work overtime, thus more personnel increases the pool of people available to work.
This item will be presented by Brady Leffler - Fire Chief and TJ Hansell - Grants Coordinator.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Mayor and City Council shall hear and possibly take action to ratify the submission of a grant application (EMW-2015-FH-00425) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program for the addition of 2 Firefighters to MFD in the amount of $333,864. Discussion and Action.