Send a letter explaining why you need this information, and if you also need to change the Primary Contact information. Please be aware changing the Primary Contact on one grant will cause the Primary Contact to be changed on all other department grants submitted under the same user ID. The letter must be on fire department letterhead and signed by the Fire Chief of the department. To expedite this change you can fax a copy of the letter to Annette Robinson at 1-866-274-0942.

After faxing the letter to Annette Robinson, please mail the original letter to:

DHS/FEMA/Grant Programs Directorate
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program
Annette Robinson - Room 5066D
Tech World Bldg - South Tower 5th Floor
500 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20472

The following information must be included in the letter:

• Grant number
• Previous primary contact person's name
• Explanation of why access to the grant is needed
• New contact person's name
• New contact person's mother's maiden name
• New contact person's date of birth
• New contact person's e-mail address
• Two phone numbers for the new contact person

A mailed letter may take two weeks to process. However, soon after faxing the letter to Annette Robinson, you will receive an e-mail from Pinky Sheets telling you she has updated the system and placed your name on the grant as the main contact person. You will also receive an automated e-mail from EOPS@dhs.gov with your user ID and temporary password.

If you do not receive this automated e-mail from EOPS@dhs.gov within two days of faxing your request and receiving the e-mail from Ms. Sheets, you should look in your junk mail file. The electronic e-mails are sometimes filtered and sent directly to junk mail.

If you are still unable to get a new user ID and password, go onto the Web site at www.firegrantsupport.com and choose e-grant application. You will get an application sign-in screen. Click on forgot password, answer the two security questions and submit your request.

The screen should indicate you successfully submitted your request and a temporary password is being e-mailed to you. Go into your e-mail and retrieve the user ID and temporary password. Again, if the message is not there, look in the junk mail file. If it is not in your junk mail file then your e-mail address is not compatible with the DHS system. You will have to set up a new e-mail account. You may want to use the free e-mail accounts such as Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.

When you click on submit, if you get an error message indicating you gave incorrect information, you need to call Annette Robinson (202) 786-9626.

Please note: This information can only be changed by authorized personnel.

There are many reasons why you may not have received any e-mails from the AFG system. Some e-mail services such as Hotmail, Yahoo, SBCGlobal or MSN have a tendency to place e-mails from us (dhs.gov) in the junk mail folder of the e-mail program. You can remedy this problem by allowing our e-mail addresses to be accepted by your e-mail provider/program. Different programs have different procedures, so check with your e-mail provider for details on how to allow e-mail addresses. The e-mail address always has a dhs.gov extension. The following e-mail addresses should be allowed:

eops@dhs.gov
afg@dhs.gov
firegrants@dhs.gov

Other e-mail programs that are within a local government or state government, for example, joe.smith@skokie.il.us or pinky@parkland.cc.ca.us , have a tendency to block dhs.gov e-mails entirely. If your e-mail is a .us account, please speak with your e-mail provider or your systems administrator and request they allow e-mails with the dhs.gov extension or tell them to allow e-mails from the following addresses:

eops@dhs.gov
afg@dhs.gov
firegrants@dhs.gov

For the Primary Contact – There can be only one Primary Contact for your department/agency.

Changing the Primary Contact on one grant will cause the Primary Contact to be changed on all other department grants submitted under the same user ID. If you do not wish to do this, consider changing Alternate Contact information for a particular grant instead (see next paragraph). To update personal information such as Primary Contact name, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, or change password, grantees should log into their grant and at the Status screen click on Edit Profile , which is located at the upper middle part of the screen. The page that comes up will allow you to update any personal information that has changed. Type in the updated personal information and click Save at the bottom of the page. A note will state, "Your profile has been updated. Thank You." To make the changes permanent, you must log out of your application for the new information to take effect. To do this, click on the Authorized Applications link on the upper left-hand side of the "Thank You" page, and then click on Firefighter's Grants on the new page so the new information will be set and updated.

For Alternate Contacts – Alternate Contacts can differ from grant to grant if your department/agency has more than one AFG Grant. To change the Alternate Contact name, or update any alternate contact personal information, grantees must log into their grant. From the Status screen, select Manage Grant from the drop-down menu in the Action field. Click on Update Alternate Contacts on the menu bar on the left side of the screen. Type in the updated personal information and click Save and Continue at the bottom of the page. As this request changes information that is contained within the actual grant application, it is processed as a Revision Request by Grants Management staff and must be entered manually. The updated information may not appear for several weeks.

Letters of support should be sent to:

Ms. Elizabeth M. Harman, Assistant Administrator
DHS/FEMA/Grants Program Preparedness
Tech World Building – 9th Floor South Tower
800 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20472-3620
Fax 202-786-9938

Since October 1, 2003, the Federal Government has required all applicants for federal grants and cooperative agreements, with the exception of individuals other than sole proprietors and foreign entities, have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.

The Federal Government uses the DUNS number to better identify related organizations that are receiving funding under grants and cooperative agreements, and to provide consistent name and address data for electronic grant application systems. Additional information about DUNS numbers can be found on the D&B Web site: http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform.

The process is free. If you have already registered for a DUNS number, you must use the same number for every application.

We strongly encourage applicants to apply online. All you need is Internet access from any computer. Since you create a user ID and password, you can log in from anywhere and work on the application. You can save it and return later to continue working on the application from any computer that has Internet access.

If you must apply by paper, call our Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 to request a paper application be mailed to you. See the Program Guidance for information regarding the submittal dates.  Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Applications must be received at the address below by the deadline.  See the Program Guidance for information regarding the submittal dates.

U.S. Fire Administration Grant Program Technical Assistance Center
16825 South Seton Avenue
Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727-8998

Faxed applications will not be accepted.

Remember to send the application early enough to ensure it is received by the deadline.

Applicants who propose to initiate a recruitment and/or retention plan as a part of their application will receive equal consideration for the recruitment activities and the retention activities. Proposals in this activity may include providing incentives for volunteer firefighter members to continue their service in a fire department. Examples of the type of initiatives that may receive assistance include but are not limited to the following:

• Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
• College education cost reimbursement
• Reimbursement for lost wages while attending training
• Marketing program costs to recruit new volunteer members
• Staffing needs assessment
• Explorer, cadet, and/or mentoring programs
• Initial entry physicals
• Tuition assistance for higher education and professional certifications
• Workers compensation
• Length of service awards and other retirement benefits

If you are a municipally based organization, i.e., an organization that provides services on behalf of a governmental entity, or if you are registered with the IRS as a 501(c) corporation, you are NOT a for-profit organization and are therefore eligible to receive SAFER funding.

No. You have a choice of dividing your narrative into two separate parts and addressing each activity or combining your requests into one narrative statement.
If you choose to combine your requests into one narrative, you may discuss the four items (shown below) required for both the Hiring of Firefighters Activity and the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity.

1. A statement that describes why the applicant needs the grant funds, i.e., how the recruitment of new firefighters and retention of current firefighters will be used within the department and a description of the specific benefit these firefighters will be to the fire department and community. This statement should include specifics about the recruitment and/or retention plan and what specific benefit the efforts would provide to the community.
2. A statement regarding how the community and current firefighters are at risk without the needed firefighters, and to what extent that risk will be reduced if the applicant is awarded.
3. An explanation of the applicant's inability to address the need without federal assistance.
4. A statement relating to how the applicant will ensure, to the extent possible, that it will seek, recruit, and hire members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women to increase their ranks within the department.

There are two additional items (shown below) that also must be discussed in the Hiring Firefighters activity.

• A statement regarding how the applicant plans to meet the match requirements for the 5 years required under the grant award. This statement should include any long-term plans to retain the new firefighter positions.
• A statement regarding how the applicant plans to meet the requirement to ensure that firefighter positions filled under the SAFER grants are not discriminated against for, or prohibited from, engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours.

This number should include the sum of only career uniformed/operational personnel in the following categories:

• Firefighters, engineers (driver/operators), and fire officers employed at time of application;
• SAFER-funded firefighters;
• Any additional operational personnel hired since the time of application.

Note: Volunteer firefighters, paid-on-call firefighters, and civilian administrative personnel should not be included in this count.

Remember that the SAFER grant identifies the staffing and assembly portions of NFPA 1710 and 1720. NFPA 1710, Section 5.2.4.2 calls for the assembly of 14 qualified personnel (15 if an aerial device is used) within an 8-minute response time to 90 percent of structure fires. NFPA 1720, Section 4.3, calls for differing levels of staffing and response time based on the type of demand zone (urban, suburban, rural, and remote) served by the department. Types of information that should be addressed in the performance report include:

• How the firefighters are being used in your department to achieve NFPA compliance improvements, (e.g., 4 on the engine company; daytime driver Monday - Friday; etc.);
• A comparison of your pre-SAFER and post-SAFER assembly capabilities (e.g., before SAFER we averaged 8 firefighters on a structure fire and now we are averaging 10; our average response time to assemble the full complement of personnel on the fire ground used to be 12.5 minutes, now it is 9.3 with the SAFER personnel; etc.);
• A brief description NFPA standard compliance improvements you are able to achieve with SAFER staffing (e.g., while our average response time is now 9.3 minutes, we are arriving within 8 minutes to 70 percent of our calls, which is much higher than before we had the SAFER staffing; we can only get 12 personnel on scene within 8 minutes, and have to wait for mutual aid to arrive for the remaining personnel, which usually takes an additional 4 to 5 minutes; our SAFER firefighter is able to respond with the engine right away, so our volunteer personnel can respond directly to the scene and we now get at least 6 firefighters on scene within 14 minutes most of the time; etc.)
• This last point is best addressed at the end of each of the SAFER grant years - a description of any results you are able to see in your department and community as a result of the increased SAFER staffing (e.g., because we are able to get more firefighters on the incident more quickly, we have seen an 10 percent reduction in fire loss; because we now have a full complement of firefighters deployed, we were able to make two successful rescues during the past year that we might not have been able to make before SAFER; since hiring the SAFER firefighters, we have noted a 27 percent reduction in firefighter injuries).

There are two ways of obtaining technical assistance for completing the SAFER application: the SAFER grant program Help Desk and the online SAFER Applicant Tutorial.

SAFER grant program Help Desk . Use the toll-free information line at
1-866-274-0960 to ask questions about the grant program and the application. Normal business hours for the Help Desk are Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT. During the application period (May 30 to June 30), the Help Desk will be staffed between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday; and until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 30, 2006. However, these hours may change as the application period progresses. The toll-free number also will accept voicemail messages after hours or if the line is busy. Questions also may be sent to a toll-free fax line at 1-866-274-0942, or e-mailed to FireGrants@dhs.gov .

A total of $115,000,000 has been appropriated for the SAFER grants. Of that total, no less than ten percent (10%), or $11.5 million, must be awarded for recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Up to ninety percent (90%), or $98.1 million, can be awarded for the purposes of hiring new firefighters.

Also, no less than ten percent (10%) of the appropriation, or $11.5 million, must be awarded within the Hiring Activity to volunteer or mostly volunteer departments, i.e., departments where more than fifty percent (50%) of their membership is volunteer.