1

Actions Taken by the Federal Emergency 

Management Agency in Response to an 

Allegation Concerning the Application for 

a Station Construction Grant Submitted 

by the University City, Missouri, 

Fire Department 

OIG-11-52 March 2011 
 

Background 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, reviewed 

actions taken by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address 

allegations that the application for a Station Construction Grant (SCG) submitted by the 

University City, Missouri, Fire Department contained unsupported and inaccurate 

information. The principal allegation was that the fire department’s representation of the 

fire station as structurally unsound was not supported. 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) appropriated 

$210 million to FEMA for competitive grants for “modifying, upgrading, or constructing 

non-Federal fire stations.” In determining awards, FEMA guidance says that the highest 

priority will be assigned to projects to replace unsafe or uninhabitable structures and to 

expand fire protection coverage to meet increased service demand. FEMA received and 

ranked approximately 6,000 grant applications, performed peer reviews of about 1,200 

applications that it determined were in the competitive range, and awarded 119 grants 

totaling $207 million. 

FEMA granted $2.6 million to the University City Fire Department for construction of a 

new fire station. The fire department’s grant application said that its station “is damaged 

from years of water intrusion in the basement, foundation, and roof,” has “extensive mold 

and mildew,” and is unsafe and uninhabitable because it is structurally unsound. 

Results of Review 

FEMA took appropriate actions to evaluate the allegations concerning the University City 

application for an SCG. Specifically, FEMA suspended the grant, reviewed the issues 

with its technical subject matter experts and University City officials, obtained additional 

documentation from the city in support of the statements made in the grant application, 

and hired an engineer to inspect the fire station. 

The engineer inspected the fire station on December 15, 2010. According to the 

engineer’s report, the purpose of the site visit was to: 

1.	 Compare onsite firehouse conditions with the list of conditions identified in the 

grant application to ascertain whether the grantee had misrepresented facts in 

applying for the grant; and 

2.	 Compare the allegations with the onsite firehouse conditions in order to confirm 

or refute each claim. 

The engineer’s report said that “each material statement found in the application and 

complainant allegation was individually investigated and judged on its own merits 

relative to SCG Program Guidance and observed site conditions.” Also, the engineer 

reported that “where visual observation alone could not corroborate or refute a statement, 

professional judgment and elicited response from the grantee was used in forming my 

opinion.” In forming his recommendation, the engineer said that “while I did find minor 

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mistakes in the application . . . none of the applicant’s answers could be seen as 

egregious, evasive or purposefully misleading.” Finally, the engineer recommended that 

“the Station Construction Grant awarded to the City of University City, Missouri Fire 

Department remain intact.” 

Based on actions that FEMA took to examine the allegations, we consider this matter 

closed, and a response to this report is not required. 

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Appendix A 

Purpose, Scope, and Methodology 

We conducted this review to determine whether FEMA took appropriate actions in 

response to an allegation that the University City, Missouri, Fire Department’s 

application for a Station Construction Grant contained unsupported and misleading 

information. 

To accomplish our objective, we— 

•	 Interviewed the complainant to obtain a better understanding of the allegation, 

•	 Obtained supporting documentation from the complainant, 

•	 Interviewed FEMA officials to obtain an understanding of their work related to 

the allegations and acquired and analyzed relative supporting documentation, 

•	 Accompanied the engineer hired by FEMA on the site inspection of the 

University City fire station and on the inspection of the proposed location for the 

new fire station, and 

•	 Reviewed engineer’s report on the results of the inspection. 

We performed this review between September 2010 and January 2011 in Washington, 

DC, and University City, Missouri. We conducted our review in accordance with the 

Quality Standards for Inspections issued by the President’s Council on Integrity and 

Efficiency, currently known as the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and 

Efficiency. 

We appreciate the assistance provided to us during our review by officials from FEMA 

and from University City. 

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Appendix B 

Major Contributors to This Report 

Roger LaRouche, Director 

Pamela Weatherly, Lead Program Analyst 

Jason Kim, Auditor 

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Appendix C 

Report Distribution 

Department of Homeland Security 

Secretary 

Deputy Secretary 

Chief of Staff 

Deputy Chief of Staff 

General Counsel 

Executive Secretary 

Director, GAO/OIG Liaison Office 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Policy 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Public Affairs 

Assistant Secretary for Office of Legislative Affairs 

Departmental Coordinator, American Recovery and 

 Reinvestment Act 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Assistant Administrator, Grants Programs, 

 Federal Emergency Management Agency Audit Liaison 

Office of Management and Budget 

Chief, Homeland Security Branch 

DHS OIG Budget Examiner 

Congress 

Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees, as 

appropriate 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND COPIES 

To obtain additional copies of this report, please call the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at (202) 254-4100, 

fax your request to (202) 254-4305, or visit the OIG web site at www.dhs.gov/oig. 

OIG HOTLINE 

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misconduct relative to department programs or operations: 

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• Email us at DHSOIGHOTLINE@dhs.gov; or 

• Write to us at: 

DHS Office of Inspector General/MAIL STOP 2600, 

Attention: Office of Investigations - Hotline, 

245 Murray Drive, SW, Building 410, 

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