What type of firefighter positions will be funded?
Only full-time firefighter positions will be funded. Full-time positions are those that are funded for at least 2,080 hours per year (i.e., 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.) The Grant Program recognizes that many fire departments have shifts beyond this typical 40-hour work week. The Grant Program will consider funding job-share positions if there is sufficient justification.
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What is a job-share position?
A job-share position is a full-time position that is occupied by more than one person.
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May I apply for more than one firefighter position, with different salaries and benefits for each?
A department that is eligible for the Hiring of Firefighters Activity may apply for multiple entry-level positions that have the same salary or have varying salaries and benefits. To make such a request, click "Add Budget Item" in the "Request Details" section of the online application. Complete the information required, and click "Save and Continue." Repeat the "Add Budget Item" steps until you have added all the positions you wish to request.
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If I receive a SAFER award, how much time do I have to hire the firefighters?
The SAFER grant performance period does not start until 90 days after the award announcement. This delay provides grantees with an opportunity to recruit new firefighters. Not all grantees will need the full 90 days, and some may need more. Grantees that can recruit and hire a firefighter before the start of the performance period may request pre-award costs to be included in their grant. Grantees that take more than 90 days will be losing an opportunity to receive Federal cost share.
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How does the Federal share and applicant matching share for the Hiring Firefighters Activity work?
Recipients of grants in the Hiring of Firefighters Activity must commit to a 5-year period of performance during which the Federal contribution toward the costs of the salaries will diminish over the course of the performance period, with all costs borne by the grantee in Year Five. Based on a total funding cap of $100,000 over 5 years, the maximum annual Federal share of funds that grantees can receive under SAFER for salary and benefits for newly hired firefighters will not exceed the lesser of the following:

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What standards does SAFER involve?
The industry minimum standards to be addressed include NFPA 1710, Section 5.2.4.2 (Initial Full Alarm Assignment Capability), which primarily applies to all-career fire departments and at the combination department's election; and NFPA 1720 Section 4.3 (Staffing and Deployment), which primarily applies to all-volunteer fire departments and combination departments that do not elect to comply with NFPA 1710. Note: The SAFER program is focused only on the staffing sections of these two standards. The NFPA has established a special link www.nfpa.org/SAFERActGrant that provides text of the 2 sections of NFPA 1710 and NFPA 1720 that applies to the above. Also we reference NFPA 1582, (Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments) 2003 Edition.
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Can fire departments request that current volunteer members be converted to career positions?
Those volunteer and combination fire department applicants in the Hiring Firefighters Activity who will increase the total number of active firefighters through hiring personnel from outside the organization will receive higher consideration than those who recruit from within the organization without increasing the total number of members.
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