Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 65679 

amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Cancer 

Institute Special Emphasis Panel, NCI 

Program Project Meeting II. 

Date: January 27–28, 2015. 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Bethesda North Marriott & 

Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, 

Bethesda, MD 20852. 

Contact Person: Majed M. Hamawy, Ph.D., 

MBA, Scientific Review Officer, Research 

Programs Review Branch, Division of 

Extramural Activities, National Cancer 

Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 

7W120, Bethesda, MD 20892–9750, 240–276– 

6457, mh101v@nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Cancer 

Institute Special Emphasis Panel, NCI 

Program Project Meeting III (P01). 

Date: January 29–30, 2015, 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Bethesda North Marriott & 

Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, 

Bethesda, MD 20852. 

Contact Person: Shakeel Ahmad, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Research Programs 

Review Branch, Division of Extramural 

Activities, National Cancer Institute, 9609 

Medical Center Drive, Room 7W122, 

Bethesda, MD 20892–9750, 240–276–6349, 

ahmads@mail.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Cancer 

Institute Special Emphasis Panel, NCI SPORE 

Review I. 

Date: February 3–4, 2015. 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Bethesda North Marriott & 

Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, 

Bethesda, MD 20852. 

Contact Person: Caterina Bianco, MD, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Research 

Programs Review Branch, Division of 

Extramural Activities, National Cancer 

Institute, NIH, 9609 Medical Center Drive, 

7W610 Bethesda, MD 20892–9750, 240–276– 

6459, bianco@mail.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Cancer 

Institute Special Emphasis Panel, NCI SPORE 

II. 

Date: February 3–4, 2015. 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Bethesda North Marriott & 

Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, 

Bethesda, MD 20852. 

Contact Person: Wlodek Lopaczynski, MD, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Research 

Programs Review Branch, Division of 

Extramural Activities, National Cancer 

Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 

7W608, Rockville, MD 20892, 240–276–6458, 

lopacw@mail.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Cancer 

Institute Initial Review Group, Subcommittee 

J-Career Development. 

Date: February 19, 2015. 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Cancer Institute Shady 

Grove, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 

7W640, Rockville, MD 20850 (Telephone 

Conference Call). 

Contact Person: Ilda F. S. Melo, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Resources and 

Training Review Branch, Division of 

Extramural Activities, National Cancer 

Institute, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 

7W640, Rockville, MD 20892, 240–276–6468, 

ilda.melo@mail.nih.gov. 

Information is also available on the 

Institute’s/Center’s home page: http://

deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/sep/sep.htm, 

where an agenda and any additional 

information for the meeting will be posted 

when available. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.392, Cancer Construction; 

93.393, Cancer Cause and Prevention 

Research; 93.394, Cancer Detection and 

Diagnosis Research; 93.395, Cancer 

Treatment Research; 93.396, Cancer Biology 

Research; 93.397, Cancer Centers Support; 

93.398, Cancer Research Manpower; 93.399, 

Cancer Control, National Institutes of Health, 

HHS) 

Dated: October 30, 2014. 

Melanie J. Gray, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26204 Filed 11–4–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

[Docket ID FEMA–2014–0028] 

Assistance to Firefighters Grant 

Program 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of grant 

application and application deadline. 

SUMMARY: This Notice describes the 

grant application process and the 

criteria for awarding grants in the fiscal 

year (FY) 2014 Assistance to Firefighters 

Grant Program (AFG) Program and 

announces the grant application 

deadline. It explains the differences, if 

any, between these guidelines and those 

recommended by representatives of the 

Nation’s fire service leadership during 

the annual Criteria Development 

meeting, which was held January 8–9, 

2014. The application period for the FY 

2014 AFG Program year will be held 

November 3, 2014 through December 5, 

2014, and will be announced on the 

AFG Web site (www.fema.gov/

firegrants), www.grants.gov, and U.S. 

Fire Administration Web site 

(www.usfa.fema.gov). 

The AFG Program makes grants 

directly to fire departments, 

nonaffiliated emergency medical 

services (EMS) organizations, and state 

fire training academies for the purpose 

of enhancing the abilities of first 

responders to protect the health and 

safety of the public as well as that of 

first-responder personnel facing fire and 

fire-related hazards. It is anticipated that 

approximately 10,000 to 15,000 

applications will be submitted 

electronically, using the online 

application submission form and 

process available at https://

portal.fema.gov. Before the application 

period, the ‘‘FY 2014 AFG Funding 

Opportunity Announcement’’ will be 

published on the AFG Web site 

(www.fema.gov/firegrants). Additional 

information to assist applicants will be 

provided on the AFG Web site, 

including a list of Frequently Asked 

Questions (FAQ), a ‘‘Get Ready Guide,’’ 

and a ‘‘Quick Reference Guide.’’ In 

addition, the authorizing statute 

requires that a minimum of 10 percent 

of available funds be expended for fire 

prevention and safety grants to be made 

directly to local fire departments and to 

local, regional, State, or national entities 

recognized for their expertise in the 

fields of fire prevention and firefighter 

safety research and development. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2229. 

DATES: Grant applications for the 

Assistance to Firefighters Grants will be 

accepted electronically at https://

portal.fema.gov, from November 3, 

2014, beginning at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, 

and will conclude on December 5, 2014, 

at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. 

ADDRESSES: Assistance to Firefighters 

Grants Branch, DHS/FEMA, 800 K 

Street NW., MS 3620, Washington, DC 

20472–3620. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Catherine Patterson, Branch Chief, 

Assistance to Firefighters Grant Branch, 

1–866–274–0960. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the AFG Program is to 

provide grants directly to fire 

departments, nonaffiliated emergency 

medical services (EMS) organizations, 

and State Fire Training Academies 

(SFTAs) to enhance their ability to 

protect the health and safety of the 

public, as well as that of first-responder 

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65680 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 

personnel, with respect to fire and firerelated hazards. The authorizing statute 

requires that each year DHS publish in 

the Federal Register the guidelines that 

describe the application process and the 

criteria for grant awards. 

Specific information about the 

submission of grant applications can be 

found in the ‘‘FY 2014 Assistance to 

Firefighters Grant (AFG) Funding 

Opportunity Announcement,’’ which is 

available for download at 

www.fema.gov/firegrants under Docket 

ID FEMA–2014–0028. 

Paper applications will not be 

accepted due to the inherent delays 

with processing them and because they 

lack the applicant ‘‘help’’ features that 

are built into the electronic application. 

Appropriations 

Congress appropriated $340,000,000 

for the FY 2014 AFG pursuant to the 

Department of Homeland Security 

Appropriations Act, 2014, Public Law 

113–6. From this amount, $304,503,764 

will be made available for AFG awards. 

Funds appropriated for the FY 2014 

AFG will be available for obligation and 

award until September 30, 2015. 

From the approximately 10,000 to 

15,000 applications that will be 

submitted to request assistance, FEMA 

anticipates that it will be able to award 

approximately 3,000 grants with the 

grant funding available. 

Congress directed the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) to administer 

the appropriations with the following 

requirements: 

• Career (fire department): Not less 

than 25 percent of available grant funds. 

• Volunteer (fire department): Not 

less than 25 percent of available grant 

funds. 

• Combination (fire department) and 

departments using paid-on-call 

firefighting personnel—not less than 25 

percent of available grant funds. 

• Open Competition: Career, 

volunteer, and combination fire 

departments and fire departments using 

paid-on-call firefighting personnel—not 

less than 10 percent of available grant 

funds awarded. 

• Emergency Medical Services 

Providers: Fire departments and 

nonaffiliated EMS organizations; not 

less than 3.5 percent of available grants 

funds awarded, with nonaffiliated EMS 

providers receiving no more than 2 

percent of the total available grant 

funds. 

• State Fire Training Academies 

(SFTAs): No more than 3 percent of 

available grant funds shall be 

collectively awarded to state fire 

training academy applicants, with a 

maximum of $500,000 to be awarded 

per applicant. 

• Vehicles: Not more than 25 percent 

of available grant funds may be used for 

the purchase of vehicles; 10 percent of 

the total vehicle funds will be dedicated 

to fund ambulances. The allocation of 

funding will be distributed as equally as 

possible among urban, suburban, and 

rural community applicants. The 

remaining Vehicle Acquisition funds 

will be awarded competitively without 

regard to community classification. 

• Micro Grants: This is a voluntary 

funding limitation choice made by the 

applicant for requests submitted for 

Operations and Safety Grant Component 

Program; it is not an additional funding 

opportunity. Micro Grants are awards 

that have a federal participation (share) 

that does not exceed $25,000. Only fire 

departments and nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations are eligible to choose 

Micro Grants, and the only eligible 

Micro Grants activities are Training, 

Equipment, PPE, and Wellness and 

Fitness. Applicants that select Micro 

Grants as a funding opportunity may 

receive additional consideration for 

award. If an applicant selects Micro 

Grants in their application, they will be 

limited in the total amount of funding 

their organization can be awarded; if 

they are requesting funding in excess of 

$25,000 federal participation, they 

should not select Micro Grants. 

Background of the AFG Program 

DHS awards the grants on a 

competitive basis to the applicants that 

best address the AFG Program’s 

priorities and provide the most 

compelling justification. Applications 

that best address the Program’s 

priorities will be reviewed by a panel 

composed of fire service personnel. 

Award Criteria 

All applications for grants will be 

prepared and submitted through the 

AFG e-Grant application portal 

(https://portal.fema.gov). DHS again 

will have a separate application period 

devoted solely to the Fire Prevention 

and Safety (FP&S) Grants, which is 

projected to occur not earlier than 

February 2015. 

DHS awards the grants on a 

competitive basis to the applicants that 

best address the AFG Program’s 

priorities and provide the most 

compelling justification. Applications 

that best address the Program’s 

priorities will be reviewed by a panel 

composed of fire service personnel. The 

panels will review the applications and 

score them using the following criteria 

areas: 

• Proposed project and the project 

budget 

• Cost benefits 

• Financial need 

• The extent to which the grant would 

enhance daily operations 

• Evaluation by the Peer Reviewers 

relative to the critical infrastructure 

the applicant protects 

• For joint/regional host applications 

only, a list of all the participating 

eligible organizations and ineligible 

benefitting organizations 

• Critical infrastructure systems or key 

resources that, if attacked, would 

result in catastrophic loss of life or 

catastrophic economic loss. Critical 

infrastructure includes the following: 

Æ Public water 

Æ Power systems 

Æ Major business centers 

Æ Chemical facilities 

Æ Nuclear power plants 

Æ Major rail and highway bridges 

Æ Petroleum and/or natural gas 

transmission pipelines 

Æ Storage facilities (e.g., chemical 

storage) 

Æ Telecommunications facilities 

Æ Facilities that support large public 

gatherings, such as sporting events 

or concerts 

Eligible Applicants 

The following organizations are 

eligible to apply for and receive an AFG 

award of direct financial assistance: 

• Fire departments and nonaffiliated 

EMS organizations operating in any of 

the 50 states plus the District of 

Columbia, the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. 

Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or 

any federally recognized Indian tribe or 

authorized tribal organization, or an 

Alaskan native village, Alaska Regional 

Native Corporation, or the Alaska 

Village Initiatives. Nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations are defined by 15 U.S.C. 

2229(a)(7). 

• Any State Fire Training Academy 

operating in any of the 50 states plus the 

District of Columbia, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 

American Samoa, and the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. For the 

purposes of the Assistance to 

Firefighters Grant program, a State Fire 

Training Academy (SFTA) is defined as 

the primary State Fire Training 

Academy, agency, or institution for each 

state. It provides entity-wide delivery of 

fire training (and emergency medical 

services training if applicable) as 

specified by legislative authorization, by 

general statutory authorization or 

charter, or is ad-hoc in nature with the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 65681 

general acceptance of the fire service. 

The State Fire Training Academy shall 

receive state funding for its program in 

total or part. It shall also have the 

delivery of fire training programs as the 

primary function of the agency or 

institution as demonstrated by the 

employment of instructional staff and 

the conducting of ‘‘direct contact’’ 

programs in training and education for 

fire service personnel of the entire state. 

A listing of eligible State Fire Training 

Academy organizations and institutions 

can be found at the U.S. Fire 

Administration’s Web site (http://

www.usfa.fema.gov/pocs/). 

Ineligibility 

• FEMA considers two or more 

separate fire departments or 

nonaffiliated EMS organizations sharing 

facilities as being one organization. If 

two or more organizations share 

facilities, and each organization submits 

an application in the same program 

area, FEMA may deem all of those 

program area applications to be 

ineligible to avoid any duplication of 

benefits. 

• Fire-based EMS organizations are 

not eligible to apply as nonaffiliated 

EMS organizations. Fire-based EMS 

training and equipment must be 

requested by a fire department under 

the AFG component program 

Operations and Safety. 

Statutory Limits to Funding 

Congress has enacted statutory limits 

to the amount of funding that a grantee 

may receive from the AFG Program in 

any single fiscal year (15 U.S.C. 

2229(c)(2)) based on the population 

served. Awards will be limited based on 

the size of the population protected by 

the applicant, as indicated below. 

Notwithstanding the annual limits 

stated below, the FEMA Administrator 

may not award a grant in an amount that 

exceeds one percent of the available 

grants funds in such fiscal year, except 

where it is determined that such 

recipient has an extraordinary need for 

a grant in an amount that exceeds the 

one percent aggregate limit. 

• In the case of a recipient that serves 

a jurisdiction with 100,000 people or 

fewer, the amount of available grant 

funds awarded to such recipient shall 

not exceed $1 million in any fiscal year. 

• In the case of a recipient that serves 

a jurisdiction with more than 100,000 

people but not more than 500,000 

people, the amount of available grant 

funds awarded to such recipient shall 

not exceed $2 million in any fiscal year. 

• In the case of a recipient that serves 

a jurisdiction with more than 500,000 

but not more than 1 million people, the 

amount of available grant funds 

awarded to such recipient shall not 

exceed $3 million in any fiscal year. 

• In the case of a recipient that serves 

a jurisdiction with more than 1 million 

people but not more than 2,500,000 

people, the amount of available grant 

funds awarded to such recipient shall 

not exceed $6 million for any fiscal 

year, but is subject to the one percent 

aggregate cap of $3,400,000 for FY 2014. 

• In the case of a recipient that serves 

a jurisdiction with more than 2,500,000 

people, the amount of available grant 

funds awarded to such recipient shall 

not exceed $9 million in any fiscal year, 

but is subject to the one percent 

aggregate cap of $3,400,000 for FY 2014. 

• FEMA may not waive the caps on 

the maximum amount of available grant 

funds awarded based upon population. 

The cumulative total of the federal 

share of awards in Operations and 

Safety and Vehicle Acquisition will be 

considered when assessing award 

amounts and any limitations thereto. 

Applicants may request funding up to 

the statutory limit on each of their 

applications. 

For example, an applicant that serves 

a jurisdiction with more than 100,000 

people but not more than 500,000 

people may request up to $2 million on 

their Operations and Safety Application 

and up to $2 million on their Vehicle 

Acquisition Request. However, should 

both grants be awarded, the applicant 

would have to choose which award to 

accept if the cumulative value of both 

applications exceeds the statutory 

limits. 

Applications for Joint/Regional 

Projects will not be included in the host 

organization’s funding limitations 

detailed above. However, Joint/Regional 

applicants will be subject to their own 

limitation based on the total population 

the joint/regional project will serve. For 

example, a Joint/Regional Project 

serving a cumulative population with 

more than 100,000 people but not more 

than 500,000 people will be limited to 

$2 million. 

Cost Sharing and Maintenance of Effort 

Grantees must share in the costs of the 

projects funded under this grant 

program as required by 15 U.S.C. 

2229(k)(1) and in accordance with 

applicable Federal regulations 

governing grants in effect at the time a 

grant is awarded to a grantee, but they 

are not required to have the cost-share 

at the time of application nor at the time 

of award. However, before a grant is 

awarded, FEMA will contact potential 

awardees to determine whether the 

grantee has the funding in hand or if the 

grantee has a viable plan to obtain the 

funding necessary to fulfill the costsharing requirement. 

In general, an eligible applicant 

seeking a grant shall agree to make 

available non-Federal funds equal to not 

less than 15 percent of the grant 

awarded. However, the cost share will 

vary as follows based on the size of the 

population served by the organization: 

• Applicants serving areas with 

populations above 20,000 but not more 

than 1 million shall agree to make 

available non-Federal funds equal to not 

less than 10 percent of the total project 

cost. 

• Applicants that serve populations 

of 20,000 or less must match the Federal 

grant funds with an amount of nonFederal funds equal to 5 percent of the 

total project cost. 

The cost share of State fire training 

academies and joint/regional projects 

will be based on the entire State or 

region, not the population of the host 

organization. 

On a case by case basis, the AFG may 

allow grantees that already own assets 

(equipment or vehicles) to use the tradein allowance/credit value of those assets 

as ‘‘cash’’ for the purpose of meeting the 

cost-share obligation of their AFG 

award. In-kind cost-share matches are 

not allowed. 

Grantees under this grant program 

must also agree to a maintenance of 

effort requirement as required by 15 

U.S.C. 2229(k)(3) (referred to as a 

‘‘maintenance of expenditure’’ 

requirement in that statute). A grantee 

shall agree to maintain during the term 

of the grant the applicant’s aggregate 

expenditures relating to the activities 

allowable under the Funding 

Opportunity Announcement at not less 

than 80 percent (80%) of the average 

amount of such expenditures in the two 

(2) fiscal years preceding the fiscal year 

in which the grant amounts are 

received. 

In cases of demonstrated economic 

hardship, and on the application of the 

grantee, the Administrator of FEMA 

may waive or reduce a grantee’s cost 

share requirement or maintenance of 

expenditure requirement. As required 

by statute, the Administrator of FEMA 

has established guidelines for 

determining what constitutes economic 

hardship and published these 

guidelines at FEMA’s Web site 

(www.fema.gov/grants). 

Prior to the start of the FY 2014 AFG 

application period, DHS will conduct 

applicant workshops and/or Internet 

webinars to inform potential applicants 

about the AFG Program. In addition, 

DHS will provide applicants with 

online information at the AFG Web site 

(www.fema.gov/firegrants) to help them 

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65682 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 

prepare quality grant applications. The 

AFG also will staff a Help Desk 

throughout the application period to 

assist applicants with navigation 

through the automated application as 

well as assistance with any questions 

they have. Applicants can reach the 

AFG Help Desk through a toll-free 

telephone number (1–866–274–0960) or 

electronic mail (firegrants@dhs.gov). 

Application Process 

Organizations may submit one 

application per application period in 

each of the three AFG Program areas, 

e.g., one application for Operations and 

Safety, one for Vehicle Acquisition, 

and/or a separate application to be a 

Joint/Regional Project host. If an 

organization submits more than one 

application for any single AFG Program 

area, e.g., two applications for 

Operations and Safety, two for Vehicles, 

etc.; either intentionally or 

unintentionally, FEMA will deem all 

applications submitted by that 

organization for the Program to be 

ineligible for funding. 

Applicants will be advised to access 

the application electronically at 

https://portal.fema.gov. The application 

also will be accessible from the U.S. Fire 

Administration’s Web site (http://

www.usfa.fema.gov) and the grants.gov 

Web site (http://www.grants.gov). New 

applicants will be required to register 

and establish a username and password 

for secure access to their application. 

Applicants that applied to any previous 

AFG funding opportunities will be 

required to use their previously 

established usernames and passwords. 

In completing the application, 

applicants will be asked to provide 

relevant information on their 

organization’s characteristics, call 

volume, and existing capabilities. 

Applicants will be asked to answer 

questions about their grant request that 

reflect the AFG funding priorities, 

which are described below. In addition, 

each applicant will have to complete 

four separate narratives for each project 

or grant activity requested. These 

narratives will address statutory 

competitive factors: Project description 

and budget, cost benefit, financial need, 

extent to which the grant will benefit 

the organization’s daily operations, and 

additional information. The electronic 

application process will permit the 

applicant to enter and save the 

application data. The system does not 

permit the submission of incomplete 

applications. Except for the narrative 

textboxes, the application will use a 

‘‘point-and-click’’ selection process or 

require the entry of data (e.g., name and 

address, call volume numbers, etc.). 

Applicants will be encouraged to read 

the ‘‘AFG Funding Opportunity 

Announcement’’ for more details. 

National Fire Protection Association 

(NFPA) Standards 

Courtesy of the NFPA (and at no cost 

during the AFG application period), 

relevant standards that should be 

referenced in your applications may be 

viewed at http://www.nfpa.org/codesand-standards/free-access. 

Criteria Development Process 

Each year, DHS convenes a panel of 

fire service professionals, or subject 

matter experts (SMEs) to develop the 

funding priorities and other 

implementation criteria for AFG. The 

Criteria Development Panel is 

comprised of representatives from nine 

major fire service organizations, who are 

charged with making recommendations 

to FEMA regarding the creation of new 

funding priorities and the modification 

of existing funding priorities as well as 

developing criteria for awarding grants. 

The nine major fire service 

organizations represented on the panel 

are: 

• Congressional Fire Services Institute 

(CFSI) 

• International Association of Arson 

Investigators (IAAI) 

• International Association of Fire 

Chiefs (IAFC) 

• International Association of Fire 

Fighters (IAFF) 

• International Society of Fire Service 

Instructors (ISFSI) 

• National Association of State Fire 

Marshals (NASFM) 

• National Fire Protection Association 

(NFPA) 

• National Volunteer Fire Council 

(NVFC) 

• North American Fire Training 

Directors (NAFTD) 

The FY 2014 criteria development 

panel meeting occurred January 8–9, 

2014. The content of the ‘‘FY 2014 AFG 

Funding Opportunity Announcement’’ 

reflects the implementation of the 

Criteria Development Panel’s 

recommendations with respect to the 

priorities, direction, and criteria for 

awards. All of the funding priorities for 

the FY 2014 AFG are designed to 

address the following: 

• Protecting the public 

• First responder safety 

• Enhancing national capabilities 

• Risk 

• Interoperability 

Changes for FY 2014 

• FY 2014 AFG Funding Opportunity 

Announcement. 

Operations and Safety Program 

(1) Requests for Ballistic Protective 

Equipment (BPE) are now eligible as a 

new mission. A set of BPE will be 

comprised of one vest, one helmet, one 

triage bag, and one pair of goggles. Fire 

and EMS personnel should be properly 

trained and qualified in the use of the 

ballistic protection equipment and 

active shooter/mass casualty incident 

tactics and procedures. Interagency 

training and exercises are highly 

encouraged and should be fully 

explained as part of the applicant’s 

narrative, if applicable. 

(2) In FY 2013, the Assistance to 

Firefighters Grant Program introduced 

as an option within the AFG application 

of requesting a micro grant, which is an 

AFG award for which the federal share 

does not exceed $25,000. Only fire 

departments and nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations are eligible to choose 

Micro Grants, and the only activities 

that are eligible are Training, 

Equipment, PPE, and Wellness and 

Fitness. Micro Grants are not an 

additional funding opportunity, but 

Micro Grant applicants may receive 

additional consideration for an award. 

Micro Grant activities will be limited to 

those activities identified within the 

FOA as ‘‘Priority 1’’ or ‘‘High Priority’’ 

only. Overmatching of local funds by 

the applicant will not be permitted for 

Micro Grant applications. 

(3) All simulators, as well as mobile 

or fixed fire/evolution props, (e.g. burn 

trailers, forcible entry, rescue/smoke 

maze) and Tow Vehicles have been 

moved from the Training activity to the 

Equipment Activity. 

(4) Mobile computers, to include 

tablets (for use on scene/in the field) 

and mobile repeaters shall have the 

highest funding priority. Fixed repeaters 

and ‘‘backup’’ or secondary, 

communications systems will not be 

eligible in FY 2014. 

(5) Mechanical Cardiopulmonary 

resuscitation (CPR) Compression 

Devices are eligible and will be a high 

funding priority. 

Vehicle Acquisition Program 

(1) Only new custom, stock, or 

demonstration vehicles are eligible for 

reimbursement under the AFG Vehicle 

Acquisition program. Refurbishment of 

vehicles is not eligible in FY2014. 

Regional Grant Program 

(1) Two or more eligible entities may 

submit an application under the name 

of a single participating organization 

(the ‘‘host’’) to fund a regional program 

or initiative (acquisition activities are 

limited to shared Training, Equipment, 

PPE, and Vehicle Acquisition). 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 65683 

(2) A Regional Applicant (the host 

organization) is not prevented from also 

submitting applications on behalf of 

their own organization for any or all 

remaining AFG Component Programs 

(Vehicle Acquisition and/or Operations 

and Safety); however, duplicative 

acquisition requests for the same 

activities, submitted both as a singular 

applicant and Regional applicant, are 

not allowed. 

System for Award Management (SAM) 

In 2012, SAM.gov replaced the Central 

Contractor Registry (CCR). Per 2 CFR 

25.200, all grant applicants and 

awardees are required to register in 

SAM.gov, which is available free of 

charge. They must maintain validated 

information in SAM that is consistent 

with the data provided in their AFG 

grant application and in the DUNS 

database. AFG will not accept any 

application, process any awards, or 

consider any payment or amendment 

requests, or consider any amendment 

until the applicant or grantee has 

complied with the requirements to 

provide a valid DUNS number and an 

active SAM registration with current 

information. The banking information, 

employer identification number (EIN), 

organization/entity name, address, and 

DUNS number provided in the 

application must match the information 

that provided in SAM.gov. 

Revised Environmental and Historical 

Review Screening Form 

FEMA’s Environmental and Historic 

Preservation (EHP) Screening Form was 

revised and made available for 

download from the AFG application 

portal. AFG-funded projects that involve 

the installation of equipment (including 

but not limited to antennas, sprinklers, 

alarm systems, generators, vehicle 

exhaust systems, air improvement 

systems, permanent mounted signs, or 

renovations to facilities) are subject to 

FEMA’s EHP screening process. 

Additional details are included in the 

‘‘AFG Funding Opportunity 

Announcement’’. 

National Fire Incident Reporting System 

(NFIRS) 

Although NFIRS reporting is strongly 

encouraged, NFIRS reporting is not a 

requirement to apply for or be awarded 

a grant within any AFG component 

program. However, any fire-based 

organization(s) that receives an AFG 

award must begin reporting to NFIRS 

prior to the beginning of their period of 

performance. Any grantee that stops 

reporting to NFIRS during their grant’s 

period of performance is subject to 

having their award(s) modified or 

withdrawn. 

Changes to Criteria Development Panel 

Recommendations 

DHS must explain any differences 

between the published guidelines and 

the recommendations made by the 

criteria development panel and publish 

this information in the Federal Register 

prior to making any grants under the 

Program. For FY 2014, DHS accepted 

and is implementing all of the Criteria 

Development Panel’s recommendations. 

Application Review Process and 

Considerations 

The authorizing statute requires that 

each year DHS publish in the Federal 

Register a description of the grant 

application process and the criteria for 

grant awards. This information is 

provided below. 

DHS will review and evaluate all AFG 

applications submitted using the 

funding priorities and evaluation 

criteria described in this document, 

which are based on recommendations 

from the AFG Criteria Development 

Panel. FEMA will rank all submitted 

applications based on how well they 

match the funding priorities for the type 

of community served. Answers to the 

application’s activity-specific questions 

provide information used to determine 

each application’s ranking relative to 

the stated priorities. 

Preliminary Review Process 

DHS will evaluate all applications 

received first through an automated 

preliminary review process to determine 

which projects best address the AFG 

Program’s announced funding priorities. 

The automated preliminary review will 

evaluate and score the applicants’ 

answers to the activity-specific 

questions in terms of the funding 

priorities and the evaluation criteria 

described in this document. 

The projects that best meet the AFG 

Program priorities as determined by the 

preliminary review will be deemed to be 

in the ‘‘competitive range’’ and will be 

forwarded for the second level of 

application review, which is the peer 

review process. Once the competitive 

range is established, DHS will review 

the list of applicants that were not 

included in the competitive range to 

determine if any are responsible for 

protecting DHS-specified critical 

infrastructure or key resources. 

Peer Review Process 

All projects that are deemed to be in 

the competitive range after the 

preliminary review process will be 

subjected to a second level of review by 

a technical evaluation panels (TEP) of 

peer reviewers. The TEPS are made up 

of individuals from the fire service, 

including, but not limited to, 

firefighters, fire marshals, and fire 

training instructors. 

A panel of at least three peer 

reviewers will evaluate each project in 

the competitive range using the project 

narratives, along with answers to the 

general questions and the activityspecific questions. Panelists will 

provide a subjective but qualitative 

judgment on the merits of each request. 

They will review and score projects 

based on the following evaluation 

criteria: 

• The proposed project description and 

budget 

• Financial need 

• Cost benefits 

• The extent to which the grant would 

enhance daily operations 

• How the grant will positively impact 

the regional ability to protect life and 

property 

• For joint/regional host applications, 

the list of all the participating eligible 

and ineligible benefitting 

organizations 

• Evaluation by the peer reviewers 

relative to the critical infrastructure 

the applicant protects within its firstdue area of response 

• Critical infrastructure includes 

systems or key resources that, if 

attacked, would result in catastrophic 

loss of life or catastrophic economic 

loss. Examples include the following: 

Æ Public water 

Æ Power systems 

Æ Major business centers 

Æ Chemical facilities 

Æ Nuclear power plants 

Æ Major rail and highway bridges 

Æ Petroleum and/or natural gas 

transmission pipelines 

Æ Storage facilities (such as 

chemicals) 

Æ Telecommunications facilities 

Æ Facilities that support large public 

gatherings, such as sporting events 

or concerts 

• Additional information provided by 

the applicant 

Each project will be judged on its own 

merits and not compared to other 

projects. As part of the cost-benefit 

review, the panelists will consider all 

expenses budgeted, including the 

individual costs of the items requested 

as well as the extraneous costs, such as 

warranties or maintenance costs, 

administrative costs, and/or indirect 

costs. Panelists may object to costs that 

are requested but not fully explained in 

the application. 

The panelists will evaluate and score 

each project individually and then 

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65684 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 

discuss the merits and shortcomings of 

each application in an effort to reconcile 

any major discrepancies. However, a 

consensus among reviewers on the 

scores is not required. The project’s total 

peer review score will be an average of 

the individual peer reviewers’ scores. 

The projects receiving the highest scores 

during the peer review process will be 

deemed in the fundable range. 

The total peer review score will be 

combined with the score earned from 

the preliminary review, with each score 

representing 50 percent of the total 

project score. Projects will be ranked 

according to the total project scores with 

DHS considering the highest-scoring 

projects for awards. 

Technical Review Process 

Projects receiving the highest scores 

then will undergo a technical review by 

a subject matter specialist to assess the 

technical feasibility of the project and a 

programmatic review to assess 

eligibility and other factors. 

DHS generally makes funding 

decisions using rank order resulting 

from the panel evaluation. However, 

DHS may deviate from rank order and 

make funding decisions based on the 

type of department (career, 

combination, or volunteer) and/or the 

size and character of the community the 

applicant serves (urban, suburban, or 

rural) to the extent it is required to 

satisfy statutory provisions. 

After the completion of the technical 

reviews, DHS will select a sufficient 

number of awardees from this 

application period to obligate all of the 

available grant funding. It will evaluate 

and act on applications within 90 days 

following the close of the application 

period. Award announcements will be 

made on a rolling basis until all 

available grant funds have been 

committed. Awards will not be made in 

any specified order, i.e., awards will not 

be made by State, program, etc. DHS 

will notify unsuccessful applicants as 

soon as it is feasible. 

State Strategy and Communications 

Technical Review 

Each state will provide a SMS to the 

AFG Program Office to conduct a 

Technical Review of Peer reviewed 

applications from the state’s 

perspective. This state review will focus 

on requests for CBRNE requested 

equipment and training. This state 

review will focus on requests for 

communications systems equipment 

and related training that should conform 

to the state’s Statewide Communication 

Interoperability Plan (SCIP). 

Funding Priorities 

The funding priorities described in 

this Notice have been recommended by 

a panel of representatives from the 

Nation’s fire service leadership and 

have been accepted by DHS for the 

purposes of implementing the AFG. 

These rating criteria provide an 

understanding of the AFG Program’s 

priorities and the expected costeffectiveness of any proposed project(s). 

The activities listed below are in no 

particular order of priority. 

(1) Operations and Safety Funding 

Priorities 

(i) Training Activities 

• Priorities for Fire Departments and 

Joint/Regional Hosts. Due to inherent 

differences among urban, suburban, and 

rural firefighting needs, AFG has 

different priorities for Training for fire 

departments and joint/regional 

applicants that serve different types of 

communities, e.g., urban, suburban, or 

rural. These are described below and in 

the ‘‘FY 2014 AFG Funding Opportunity 

Announcement.’’ 

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Fire Department and Joint/Regional Train in~ Priorities 

Training NFPA No. Urban Suburban Rural 

NFPA 1001 (firefighter I, II) 1001 m m m 

NFPA (instructor) 1041 m m m 

NFP A 4 72 (Hazmat operations) 472 m m m 

NFPA 1581 (infection control) 1581 m m m 

Confined space (awareness) 1670 m m m 

Wildland firefighting (basic) 1143 m m m 

Wildland firefighting certification 105111143 

(red card) 

Rapid intervention training 1407 m m m 

NFPA (officer) 1021 m m m 

Emergency medical responder 1710 m m m 

Firefighter safety and survival 1407 m m m 

Safety officer 1521 m m m 

Driver/operator 1002 m m m 

Fire prevention 1/909/913/ 

1035 

Fire inspector 1031 m m m 

Fire investigator 1033 m m m 

Fire educator 1041 m m m 

NIMS/ICS 1561 m m m 

Firefighter physical ability 1583 

program 

Emergency scene rehab 1584 m m m 

Critical Incident debriefing 1500/1583 m m m 

Any training to a National/State 

or NFP A standards 

Compliance with federal/statemandated program 

NFPA (rescue technician) 1006/1670 m m m 

Paramedic m m m 

Emergency Medical Technician 

(EMT) 

Vehicle rescue 1670 m m m 

Other officer 1021 m m Ill] 

NFPA (ARFF) 1003/402 

403/408/ 

409/410/ 

412/414/ 

415 

Weapons of Mass Destruction 472 

(awareness, other/specialized) 

Mass casualty m m 11 

Weapons ofMass Destruction 472 m m 111 
65686 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 

Additional Considerations. Factors 

such as whether multiple departments 

will be trained, instructor-led vs. medialed training, and the number of 

firefighters to be trained. Large 

departments with a high number of 

active firefighters also will receive 

additional consideration. 

• Priorities for Nonaffiliated EMS 

Organizations. Since training is a 

prerequisite to the effective use of EMS 

equipment, FEMA has determined that 

it is more cost-effective to enhance or 

expand an existing EMS organization by 

providing training or equipment than it 

is to create a new service. Therefore, 

communities attempting to initiate EMS 

services will receive the lowest 

competitive rating. 

AFG provides training grants to meet 

the educational and performance 

requirements of EMS personnel. 

Training should align with the U.S. 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration (NHTSA), which 

designs and specifies a National 

Standard Curriculum for EMT training 

and the National Registry of Emergency 

Medical Technicians (NREMT), a 

private, central certifying entity whose 

primary purpose is to maintain a 

national standard (NREMT also 

provides certification information for 

paramedics who relocate to another 

state). 

Higher priorities for training are 

shown below. They are based on the 

time and cost of upgrading a 

nonaffiliated EMS organization’s 

response level. 

(1) Organizations seeking to elevate 

the response level from EMT Advanced 

(EMT–I) to Paramedic (EMT–P); 

(2) Organizations seeking to elevate 

the response level from EMT (EMT–B) 

to EMT Advanced (EMT–I); and 

(3) Organizations seeking to train a 

high percentage of the active EMR’s will 

receive additional consideration when 

applying under the Training Activity. 

Lower training priorities due to the 

time and cost of upgrading an 

organization’s response level are 

(1) Organizations seeking to upgrade 

from Emergency Medical Responder 

(First Responder) to EMT (EMT–B); and 

(2) Organizations seeking to upgrade 

from EMT (EMT–B) to Paramedic 

(EMT–P). 

(3) The lowest priority for EMS 

training is to fund Emergency Medical 

Responder (First Responders). 

(4) Organizations seeking training in 

rescue or Hazmat operations will 

receive lower consideration than 

organizations seeking training for 

medical services. 

(ii.) Equipment Acquisition 

• Fire Departments, Joint/Regional 

Hosts, SFTAs, and Nonaffiliated EMS 

Organizations. Grants are available for 

equipment to enhance the safety and 

effectiveness of firefighting, rescue, and 

fire-based and nonaffiliated EMS 

emergency medical functions. 

Equipment requested must meet all 

mandatory requirements, as well as any 

voluntary consensus standards or 

national and/or state or DHS-Adopted 

Standards. The equipment requested 

should improve the health and safety of 

firefighters and protect the public. 

Priority Equipment Types 

(1) Priority 1—Basic, 

communications, EMS/rescue. The only 

eligible AFG acquisition activity for 

interoperable communications 

equipment is the purchase of P25- 

compliant equipment. Grantees 

purchasing P25 equipment must obtain 

documented evidence from the 

manufacturer that the equipment has 

been tested and passed the entire 

applicable, published, normative P25 

Compliance assessment test procedures 

for performance, conformance, and 

Equipment requested, particularly 

decontamination and interoperability. 

(2) Priority 2—Hazmat, Specialized. 

Hazmat equipment will only be funded 

to the current level of an organization’s 

operational capabilities. 

(3) Priority 3—Investigations, CBRNE. 

Additional Considerations for 

Equipment: Fire Departments, Joint/

Regional Hosts, and SFTAs. Additional 

consideration may be given to 

equipment requests based on the 

following factors: 

• Equipment that has a direct effect 

on firefighters’ health and safety. 

• Age of equipment that will be 

considered for replacement has changed 

from 10 to 15 years. 

• Equipment that benefits other 

jurisdictions. 

• Equipment that brings the 

department into compliance with a 

national recommended standard, (e.g., 

NFPA) or statutory compliance (e.g., 

Occupational Safety & Health 

Administration (OSHA)) will receive the 

highest additional consideration. 


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• Funding Priorities for Nonaffiliated 

EMS Organizations. Nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations are eligible for Equipment 

Activities that are not specific or unique 

to structural/proximity firefighting, such 

as but not limited to Training, 

Equipment, Personal Protective 

Equipment [PPE], Wellness and Fitness, 

and Modification to Facilities they deem 

necessary to complete their mission. 

• All of the factors in the table below 

are considerations in prescoring and 

panelist review. 

Additional Considerations for 

Equipment—Nonaffiliated EMS. All of 

the following are considerations in 

prescoring and panelist review of 

equipment requests from nonaffiliated 

EMS organizations. 

(iii.) Personal Protective Equipment 

(PPE) Acquisition 

AFG Funds are primarily used to 

acquire OSHA-required and NFPAcompliant PPE for firefighting and EMS 

personnel of fire departments, joint/

regional hosts, nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations, and State fire training 

academies. Equipment requested should 

have the goal of increasing firefighter 

safety. When requesting to replace old 

or obsolete equipment, applicants will 

be asked to provide the age of the 

equipment being replaced. In order for 

SCBA/PPE to be considered obsolete, it 

must be a minimum of two NFPA cycles 

or 10 years of age or older. 

Information on the relevant NFPA 

standards can be obtained from the 

organization’s Web site at http://

www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/

free-access. If requesting training for any 

items in this section, please list it in the 

‘‘Other’’ section under Additional 

Funding for each item for which 

training is needed. 

• Funding Priorities for Fire 

Departments, Joint/Regional Hosts, and 

SFTAs. The highest priorities for 

funding will be requests from 

departments to buy new PPE for the first 

time, to replace or update obsolete PPE 

to the current standard, and to replace 

torn, tattered, or damaged PPE. 

(Obsolete is defined as any PPE that is 

10 years or older and is outdated by two 

NFPA cycles.) The medium priority for 

funding will be requests to replace 

contaminated PPE or to address a new 

risk. A low priority for funding will be 

requests to replace new or used PPE, 

replace worn but usable PPE that is not 

compliant to the current edition of the 

NFPA standard, to meet a new mission, 

or to increase current inventory. The 

table below shows the priorities for PPE 

requests that will be considered during 

prescoring and peer panelist reviews. 


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• Funding Priorities for Nonaffiliated 

EMS Organizations. Nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations are eligible for PPE 

activities that are not specific or unique 

to structural/proximity firefighting, 

such, as but not limited to, ‘‘NFPA1999: 

Standard on Protective Clothing for 

Emergency Medical Operations,’’ or 

‘‘NFPA 1981: Standard on Open-Circuit 

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus 

(SCBA) for Emergency Services.’’ 


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• Self-contained Breathing Apparatus 

(SCBA) Priorities. Awards for all SCBAs 

will be based on number of seated 

riding positions in the department’s or 

organization’s vehicle fleet and the age 

of existing SCBAs, limited to one spare 

cylinder (unless justified otherwise in 

the Request Details narrative for the PPE 

activity). New SCBAs must have 

automatic-on or integrated Personal 

Alert Safety System (PASS) devices and 

be CBRNE-compliant to the current 

edition of the NFPA 1981 standard. 

Applicants will be required to provide 

the age of the PPE being replaced. All 

requests must be justified in the Request 

Details narrative for the PPE activity. 

Additional Considerations for PPE 

Requests: Fire Departments, Joint/

Regional Hosts/SFTAs 

• Obsolete is defined as any SCBA/

PPE that is 10 years or older or two 

NFPA cycles. 

• Applicants with the oldest PPE 

and/or trying to bring the department 

into 100 percent NFPA compliance, or 

the number of firefighters who will have 

compliant gear. 

Additional Considerations for PPE 

Requests: Nonaffiliated EMS 

Organizations 

• Percent of firefighters/EMS 

personnel served. 

• Age of equipment. 

• Obsolete equipment—defined as 

any SCBA/PPE that is 10 years or older, 

and two NFPA cycles. 

(iv.) Wellness and Fitness Activities 

Only fire departments and 

nonaffiliated EMS organizations are 

eligible to apply for grants for Wellness 

and Fitness Activities. Wellness and 

Fitness Activities are intended to 

strengthen first responders so their 

mental, physical, and emotional 

capabilities are resilient to withstand 

the demands of emergency services 

response. To be eligible for FY 2014 

AFG funding in this activity, fire 

departments and nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations must offer, or plan to 

offer, all four of the following: 

(1) Periodic health screenings 

(2) Entry physical examinations 

(3) Immunizations 

(4) Behavioral health programs 

• Funding Priorities. Applicants must 

have all four Priority 1 Activities 

already in place (or request funding for 

any missing Priority 1 Activities), or 

they will be unable to request funding 

for any Priority 2 Activities. 

Priority 1: Below are the four 

activities required to offer a complete 

Wellness and Fitness Program: 

(1) Initial medical exams 

(2) Job-related immunization 

(3) Annual medical and fitness 

evaluation 

(4) Behavioral health 

Priority 2: You may only apply for 

Priority 2 items if you offer or are 

requesting a combination of the four 

activities required under Priority 1. 

Departments that have some of the 

Priority 1 programs in place must apply 

for funds to implement the missing 

Priority 1 programs before applying for 

funds for any additional program or 

equipment. In addition, funded medical 

exams must meet current NFPA 1582, as 

required by DHS Standards. 

• Simultaneous requests for Priority 1 

and Priority 2 activities will receive a 

lower funding consideration than 

requests that complete the bundle of the 

four (4) Priority 1 Activities. 

• Candidate physical ability 

evaluation. 

• Formal fitness and injury 

prevention program/equipment. 

• Injury/illness rehabilitation. 

• IAFF or IAFC peer fitness trainer 

program(s). 

(v.) Modifications to Facilities 

Only fire departments and 

nonaffiliated EMS organizations are 

eligible to apply for Modifications to 

Facilities grants. FY 2014 AFG funding 

may be used to modify and retrofit 

existing fire stations and other facilities 

or structures built before 2003. Eligible 

projects under this activity must have a 

direct effect on the health and safety of 

firefighters. New fire station 

construction is not eligible for funding. 

To be eligible, the modification must 

not change the structure footprint or 

profile. If requesting multiple items in 

this activity, total funding for all project 

and activities cannot exceed $100,000 

per fire station. 

FEMA is required to consider the 

effects of its actions on the environment 

and/or historic properties to ensure that 

all activities and programs funded by 

the agency, including grant-funded 

projects, comply with federal 

environmental planning and historic 

preservation (EHP) regulations, laws, 

and Executive Orders, as applicable. 

The Grants Program Directorate/EHP 

Branch will no longer be conducting 

EHP reviews on projects that have 

already been initiated or completed, and 

such projects that are received for 

review will be recommended to not be 

funded, unless the project can be 

modified to eliminate those parts/

elements that have already been 

completed/initiated. 

FEMA Policy 108.024.4 (linked 

below) provides procedural guidelines 

for completing environmental reviews 

as required by the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 

cases where Federal Emergency 

Management Agency funded projects 

require initiation or action prior to the 

completion of the environmental 

review. 

Please see FEMA Environmental 

Planning and Historical Preservation 

Policy 108.024.4, dated December 18, 

2013, at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary-data/1388411752234- 

6ddb79121951a68e9ba036d2569aa488/

18Dec13-NoNEPAReview.pdf. Grantees 

must comply with all applicable EHP 

laws, regulations, and Executive Orders 


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(EOs) to draw down their FY 2014 AFG 

funds. 

• Funding Priorities. Highest priority 

for funding will be requests to install 

modifications such as sole/at source 

capture exhaust systems (SSCES), 

sprinkler systems, or smoke/fire alarm 

notification systems in stations, 

including maritime and air operations 

facilities, that are occupied 24/7 and 

offer sleeping quarters. An SSCES is a 

system where exhaust gases from a 

vehicle are captured via a conduit that 

attaches to/over the end of the vehicle’s 

exhaust system at the tailpipe. The 

captured exhaust gases are expelled 

through the attached conduit via 

mechanical/pneumatic means to the 

exterior of the building. Medium 

priority will be given to requests for air 

quality systems and/or emergency 

generators from departments that may or 

may not offer sleeping quarters. Low 

priority will be given to requests to 

modify facilities that are not occupied 

24/7 and do not offer sleeping quarters, 

and for training facilities. 

All of the following information is 

considered during prescoring and 

panelist review: 

• Priorities by Level of Facility 

Occupancy: 

• Full-time (24/7) 

• Daily (part-time or selected 

coverage; not on a regular basis) 

• Occasionally (no schedule coverage; 

volunteers respond to the station.) 

Additional Considerations will be 

given for the age of the building, with 

older facilities receiving higher priority. 

If requesting multiple items in this 

activity, funding cannot exceed a 

maximum of $100,000 per station. 

(2) Joint/Regional Host Organizations. 

A Regional application is an 

opportunity for a fire department or a 

nonaffiliated EMS organization to act as 

a ‘‘host’’ applicant and apply for largescale projects on behalf of itself and any 

number of other participating local 

AFG-eligible organizations. Eligible 

Regional Program activities are Vehicle 

Acquisition and Operations and Safety 

(but only Training, Equipment, and 

PPE). Regional Program activities 

should achieve cost effectiveness, 

support regional efficiency and 

resilience, and benefit more than one 

local jurisdiction (county, parish, town, 

township, city, or village) directly from 

the activities implemented with the 

grant funds. 

Host organizations should provide 

specific details in their application 

narrative, fully explaining the 

distribution of any grant-funded 

acquisitions or grant-funded contracted 

services between the Host and the 

partner organizations. 

Regional host applicants and 

participating partner agencies must 

execute a Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) or equivalent 

document, signed by all parties 

participating in the award, prior to 

submitting an application under the 

Regional Program activities. The 

agreement should specify the individual 

and mutual responsibilities of the 

participating partners, the participant’s 

level of involvement in the project(s), 

and the proposed distribution of all 

grant-funded assets. Successful Regional 

applicants shall provide a copy of the 

signed MOU at the time of award. Any 

entity named in the application as 

benefiting from the award shall be a 

party the MOU or equivalent document. 

State Fire Training Academies are not 

eligible to apply under the Regional 

Program. 

(1) Vehicles Acquisition Program 

Not more than 25 percent of available 

grant funds may be used for the 

purchase of vehicles. Of the 25 percent 

set aside for vehicle funding, FEMA 

intends to allocate 10 percent of the 

total Vehicle funds for ambulances. The 

allocation of vehicle funding will be 

distributed as equally as possible among 

urban, suburban, and rural community 

applicants. The remaining Vehicle 

Acquisition funds will be awarded 

competitively without regard to 

community classification. 

In FY 2014, fire departments, joint/

regional hosts, nonaffiliated EMS 

organizations, and SFTAs may apply for 

more than one vehicle. Requests cannot 

exceed the financial cap based on 

population listed in the application. If a 

department submits multiple types of 

applications, and more than one of 

those requests are approved, the 

department will be held to the same 

financial cap based on the population 

listed in the application. 

(i) Compliance With Standards 

• New fire apparatus must be 

compliant with NFPA 1901 or 1906 for 

the year ordered/manufactured. 

• Ambulances, Edition 2013, or GSA 

Federal Standard KKK–A–1822F. 

• Applicants must certify that unsafe 

vehicles will be permanently removed 

from service if awarded a grant. 

Acceptable uses of unsafe vehicles 

include farm, nursery, scrap metal, 

salvage, construction, etc. 

When requesting more than one vehicle, 

the applicant will be asked to fill out a 

separate line item and answer all the 

questions including a separate Narrative 

for each vehicle. For example, if 

requesting to replace three ambulances, 

the applicant must fill out the age and 

vehicle identification number (VIN) of 

each vehicle being replaced. The same 

VIN cannot be used in each line item. 

Applicants may request funding for a 

driver training program in the Vehicle 

Acquisition section but must add the 

request in the Additional Funding area 

in the Request Details section of the 

application. Driver training program(s) 


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must be in place prior to the delivery of 

the vehicle. Applicants requesting 

vehicles that do not have drivers/

operators trained to NFPA 1002 or 

equivalent, and are not planning to have 

a training program in place by the time 

the vehicle is delivered, will not receive 

a vehicle award. 

(ii) Vehicle Funding Priorities 

Inherent differences exist between 

urban, suburban, and rural firefighting 

conventions. For this reason, DHS has 

developed different priorities in Vehicle 

Acquisition for departments that serve 

different types of communities. The U.S. 

Census Bureau’s urban—rural 

classifications are fundamentally a 

delineation of geographical areas. The 

FY2014 demographics for determining 

urban, suburban, and rural are shown in 

the table below. 

Factors Urban Suburban Rural 

Population Size .............................. >3,000/sq. mi. or 50,000+ population.1,000–2,999/sq. mi. or 25,000– 

50,000 population.

0–999/sq. mi. or <25,000 population. 

Water Supply ................................. 75–100% hydrants (municipal 

water).

50–74% hydrants .......................... <50% hydrant. 

Land Use ....................................... <25% for agriculture (based on 

zoning) industrial and commercial combined >50%.

25–49% used for agriculture 

(based on zoning) industrial 

and commercial combined >25– 

49%.

50% used for agriculture (based 

on zoning) industrial and commercial combined <25%. 

Number of Stations per square 

mile.

<3 sq. mi. per station .................... 3–9 sq. mi. per station .................. >10 sq. mi. per station. 

Number of Occupancies ................ >100 .............................................. 11–100 .......................................... 0–10. 

• Fire Department, Joint/Regional, 

and SFTA Priorities. Fire departments, 

joint/regional applicants, and SFTAs are 

eligible to request funding for the 

Vehicle Acquisition activities and 

funding priorities shown below, but 

they are not limited to these Vehicle 

activities. The funding priorities for 

firefighting vehicles—High (H), Medium 

(M), or Low (L)—are organized by 

community type. Within each separate 

funding priority, the vehicles listed 

have equal value. The chart below 

delineates the priorities for firefighting 

vehicles for each type of community. 

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65692 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 


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Fire Department, and State Fire Training Academy Vehicle 

Activities include but are not limited to the following Vehicle Priorities: •...... ............. ...... . ...... 

Priority Urban Suburban Rural 

Communities Communities Communities 

• Pumper • Pumper • Pumper 

• Ambulance • Ambulance • Ambulance 

• Aerial • Aerial • Brush-Attack 

• Rescue • Tanker-Tender • Tanker-Tender 

• Non-Transport • Rescue • Aerial 

Nonaffiliated EMS • Non-Transport • Non-Transport (Health care) - Nonaffiliated EMS Nonaffiliated 

Community (Health care) - EMS (Health care) 

Paramedic Community -Community 

Paramedic Paramedic 

• Command • Hazmat command • Command 

• Hazmat • Command • Hazmat 

• Light/ Air unit • Light/Air unit • Rescue 

• Rehab • Brush-Attack • Light/ Air unit 

• Rehab unit 

• Aircraft Rescue • ARFF • Foam Truck 

and Firefighting • Foam truck • Highway safety Vehicle (ARFF) • Highway safety unit 

• Brush-Attack unit • ARFF 

• Foam truck • Fire boat • Rehab 

• Fire boat • Hybrid • Fire boat 

• Tanker-Tender (F ire/Nonaffiliated • Hybrid 

• Highway safety EMS) (F ire/N onaffiliate 

unit dEMS) 

• Hybrid 

(Fire/Nonaffiliated 

EMS) 
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 214 / Wednesday, November 5, 2014 / Notices 65693 

• Nonaffiliated EMS Organization 

Vehicle Priorities. They are eligible for 

Vehicle Acquisition Activities that are 

not specific or unique to structural/

proximity firefighting. 

(iii) Additional Considerations 

• Departments that have automatic aid 

agreements, mutual aid agreements, or 

both. 

• Population and call volume of 

primary first due response area or 

region. 

• Replacement of open cab/jump seat 

configurations. 

• Age of the vehicle being replaced; 

older equipment receive higher 

consideration. 

• Age of the newest vehicle in the 

department’s fleet that is like the 

vehicle to be replaced. 

• Disclose vehicles on loan to the 

organization in the application 

narrative but not in the organization’s 

inventory. 

• Disclose damaged vehicles and out of 

service vehicles in the organization’s 

inventory. 

• Average age of the fleet; older 

equipment within the same class. 

• Converted vehicles not designed or 

intended for use in the fire service. 

(4) Administrative Costs 

Panelists will assess the 

administrative costs requested in each 

application and determine whether the 

request is reasonable and in the best 

interest of the Program. 

Dated: October 24, 2014. 

W. Craig Fugate, 

Administrator, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26293 Filed 11–4–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–78–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Notice of Revocation of Customs 

Broker’s License 

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection, Department of Homeland 

Security. 

ACTION: Customs broker’s license 

revocation. 

SUMMARY: This document provides 

notice of the revocation of one (1) 

customs broker’s license. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document provides that, pursuant to 

section 641 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 1641), and section 

111.45(a) of title 19 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (19 CFR 111.45(a)), 

the following customs broker’s license 

and all associated permits are revoked 

by operation of law. 


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