Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program
Released: 2019-04-25T00:00:00

Background and Genesis of SAFER

Firefighting and the provision of fire protection services to the public is traditionally a local responsibility, funded primarily by state, county, and municipal governments. During the 1990s, however, shortfalls in state and local budgets—coupled with increased responsibilities (i.e., counterterrorism) of local fire departments—led many in the fire community to call for additional financial support from the federal government. Since enactment of the FIRE Act in the 106 th Congress, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program (also known as "fire grants" and "FIRE Act grants") has provided funding for equipment and training directly from the federal government to local fire departments.

Since the fire grant program commenced in FY2001, funding has been used by fire departments to purchase firefighting equipment, personal protective equipment, and firefighting vehicles. Many in the fire-service community argued that notwithstanding the fire grant program, there remained a pressing need for an additional federal grant program to assist fire departments in the hiring of firefighters and the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. They asserted that without federal assistance, many local fire departments would continue to be unable to meet national consensus standards for minimum staffing levels, which specify at least four firefighters per responding fire vehicle (or five or six firefighters in hazardous or high-risk areas). Fire-service advocates also pointed to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program as a compelling precedent of federal assistance for the hiring of local public safety personnel.

In support of SAFER, fire-service advocates cited studies performed by the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Protection Association, the Boston Globe , and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) which concluded that many fire departments fall below minimum standards for personnel levels. According to these studies, the result of this shortfall can lead to inadequate response to different types of emergency incidents, substandard response times, and an increased risk of firefighter fatalities.

On the other hand, those opposed to SAFER grants have contended that funding for basic local government functions—such as paying for firefighter salaries—should not be assumed by the federal government, particularly at a time of high budget deficits. Also, some SAFER opponents disagree that below-standard levels in firefighting personnel are necessarily problematic, and point to statistics indicating that the number of structural fires in the United States has continued to decline over the past 20 years.

The SAFER Act

In response to concerns over the adequacy of firefighter staffing, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act—popularly called the "SAFER Act"—was introduced into the 107 th and 108 th Congresses. The 108 th Congress enacted the SAFER Act as Section 1057 of the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act ( P.L. 108-136 ; signed into law November 24, 2003). The SAFER provision was added as an amendment to S. 1050 on the Senate floor ( S.Amdt. 785 , sponsored by Senator Dodd) and modified in the FY2004 Defense Authorization conference report ( H.Rept. 108-354 ). The SAFER grant program is codified as Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a).

The SAFER Act authorizes grants to career, volunteer, and combination fire departments for the purpose of increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry-minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. Also authorized are grants to volunteer fire departments for activities related to the recruitment and retention of volunteers.

Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2012

On January 2, 2013, the President signed P.L. 112-239 , the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act. Title XVIII, Subtitle A is the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2012, which significantly amended the SAFER statute (15 U.S.C. 2229a) and authorized the SAFER program through FY2017. Table 1 provides a summary of key SAFER provisions in the 2012 reauthorization, and provides a comparison with the previous version of the SAFER statute.

Two types of grants are authorized by the SAFER Act: hiring grants and recruitment and retention grants. Hiring grants cover a three-year term and are cost shared with the local jurisdiction. According to the amended statute, the federal share shall not exceed 75% in the first year of the grant, 75% in the second year, and 35% in the third year. While the majority of hiring grants will be awarded to career and combination fire departments, the SAFER Act specifies that 10% of the total SAFER appropriation be awarded to volunteer or majority-volunteer departments for the hiring of personnel.

Additionally, at least 10% of the total SAFER appropriation is set aside for recruitment and retention grants , which are available to volunteer and combination fire departments for activities related to the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Also eligible for recruitment and retention grants are local and statewide organizations that represent the interests of volunteer firefighters. No local cost sharing is required for recruitment and retention grants.

Fire Grants Reauthorization in the 115th Congress

With the authorizations of both the AFG and SAFER programs expiring on September 30, 2017, and with sunset dates for both programs of January 2, 2018, the 115 th Congress considered reauthorization legislation.

Senate

On April 5, 2017, S. 829 , the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, was introduced by Senator McCain and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. On May 17, 2017, the committee ordered S. 829 to be reported ( S.Rept. 115-128 ) with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. On August 2, 2017, the Senate passed S. 829 by unanimous consent.

House

On July 12, 2017, the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology, Committee on Science, Space and Technology, held a hearing entitled U.S. Fire Administration and Fire Grant Programs Reauthorization: Examining Effectiveness and Priorities . Testimony was heard from the USFA acting administrator and from fire service organizations.

On December 15, 2017, H.R. 4661 , the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, was introduced by Representative Comstock. H.R. 4661 was identical to the Senate-passed S. 829 , except that while S. 829 repealed the sunset provisions for AFG and SAFER, H.R. 4661 extended the sunset dates to September 30, 2024. Additionally, H.R. 4661 reauthorized the USFA through FY2023.

On December 18, 2017, the House passed H.R. 4661 by voice vote under suspension of the rules. On December 21, 2017, the Senate passed H.R. 4661 without amendment by unanimous consent.

Other legislation related to SAFER reauthorization included H.R. 3881 , the AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017, introduced by Representative Pascrell, which was identical to S. 829 as passed by the Senate.

United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-98)

On January 3, 2018, the President signed the United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 ( P.L. 115-98 ). P.L. 115-98

extends the SAFER and AFG authorizations through FY2023; extends the sunset provisions for SAFER and AFG through September 30, 2024; extends the USFA authorization through FY2023; provides that the U.S. Fire Administration in FEMA may develop and make widely available an online training course on SAFER and AFG grant administration; expands SAFER hiring grant eligibility to cover the conversion of part-time or paid-on-call firefighters to full-time firefighters; directs FEMA, acting through the Administrator of USFA, to develop and implement a grant monitoring and oversight framework to mitigate and minimize risks of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement related to the SAFER and AFG grant programs; and makes various technical corrections to the SAFER and AFG statute.

Appropriations

The SAFER grant program receives its annual appropriation through the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security. Within the appropriations bills, SAFER is listed under the line item, "Firefighter Assistance Grants," which is located in Title III—Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. "Firefighter Assistance Grants" also includes the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

Although authorized for FY2004, SAFER did not receive an appropriation in FY2004. Table 2 shows the appropriations history for firefighter assistance, including SAFER, AFG, and the Fire Station Construction Grants (SCG) grants provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Table 3 shows recent and proposed appropriated funding for the SAFER and AFG grant programs.

FY2017

For FY2017, the Administration requested $335 million for SAFER and $335 million for AFG, a reduction of $10 million for each program from the FY2016 enacted level. According to the budget request, the proposed reduction in SAFER and AFG "reflects FEMA's successful investments in prior year grants awarded." The Administration's FY2017 budget did not request SAFER waiver authority for FY2017.

Under the proposed budget, the SAFER and AFG grant accounts would be transferred to the Preparedness and Protection activity under FEMA's broader "Federal Assistance" account. According to the budget request, Federal Assistance programs will "assist Federal agencies, States, Local, Tribal, and Territorial jurisdictions to mitigate, prepare for and recover from terrorism and natural disasters."

On May 26, 2016, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 3001 , the Department of Homeland Security Act, 2017. The Senate bill would provide $680 million for firefighter assistance, including $340 million for SAFER and $340 million for AFG. The committee maintained a separate budget account for Firefighter Assistance and did not transfer that budget account to the Federal Assistance account as proposed in the Administration budget request. In the accompanying report ( S.Rept. 114-68 ), the committee directed DHS to continue the present practice of funding applications according to local priorities and those established by the USFA, and to continue direct funding to fire departments and the peer review process. The committee stated its expectation that funding for rural fire departments remain consistent with their previous five-year history, and encouraged FEMA to consider the need for resources for staffing grants to rural departments that meet both local and regional needs.

On June 22, 2016, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2017. Unlike the Senate, the House committee did transfer the Firefighter Assistance budget account into a broader Federal Assistance account in FEMA. The bill provided $690 million for firefighter assistance, including $345 million for SAFER and $345 million for AFG. In the committee report, the committee directed FEMA to continue administering the fire grants programs as directed in prior year committee reports.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 ( P.L. 115-31 ) provided $690 million for firefighter assistance in FY2017, including $345 million for SAFER and $345 million for AFG. The firefighter assistance account is transferred to FEMA's broader Federal Assistance account.

FY2018

For FY2018, the Administration requested $688.688 million for firefighter assistance, including $344.344 million for SAFER and $344.344 million for AFG, slightly below the FY2017 level. SAFER and AFG are under Grants in the Federal Assistance budget account.

On July 18, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2018 ( H.R. 3355 ; H.Rept. 115-239 ). The bill provided $690 million for firefighter assistance under the Federal Assistance budget account, including $345 million for SAFER and $345 million for AFG. In the bill report, the committee encouraged FEMA to give high-priority consideration to grants providing for planning, training, and equipment to firefighters for crude oil-by-rail and ethanol-by-rail derailment and incident response.

On September 14, 2017, the House passed H.R. 3354 , a FY2018 omnibus appropriations bill that includes funding for SAFER and AFG. During floor consideration, the House adopted an amendment offered by Representative Kildee that added $20 million to SAFER; thus H.R. 3354 would provide $365 million for SAFER and $345 million for AFG.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 ) provided $700 million for firefighter assistance in FY2018, including $350 million for SAFER and $350 million for AFG. Money is to remain available through September 30, 2019.

FY2019

For FY2019, the Administration requested $688.688 million for firefighter assistance, including $344.344 million for SAFER and $344.344 million for AFG.

On June 21, 2018, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 3109 , the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2019 ( S.Rept. 115-283 ). The Senate bill would provide $700 million for firefighter assistance, including $350 million for SAFER and $350 million for AFG.

On July 25, 2018, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY2019 Homeland Security appropriations bill ( H.R. 6776 ; H.Rept. 115-676 ). The House bill would also provide $700 million for firefighter assistance, including $350 million for SAFER and $350 million for AFG. Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill would continue SAFER waiver authority.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 ( P.L. 116-6 ) provided $700 million for firefighter assistance in FY2019, including $350 million for SAFER and $350 million for AFG, with funds to remain available through September 30, 2020. Division A, Title III, Section 307 of P.L. 116-6 includes SAFER waiver authority which FEMA would be able to implement (if it so chose) for the FY2019 round of SAFER awards.

FY2020

For FY2020, the Administration requested $688.688 million for firefighter assistance, including $344.344 million for SAFER and $344.344 million for AFG. This is the same amount the Administration requested in its FY2019 budget proposal and a 1.6% reduction from the FY2019 appropriation. The Administration's FY2020 budget proposal does not request SAFER waiver authority.

Waiver of SAFER Requirements

In 2009, with the economic turndown adversely affecting budgets of local governments, concerns arose that modifications to the SAFER statute may be necessary to enable fire departments to more effectively participate in the program. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ( P.L. 111-5 ) included a provision (§603) that waived the matching requirements for SAFER grants awarded in FY2009 and FY2010.

Subsequently, the FY2009 Supplemental Appropriations Act ( P.L. 111-32 ) included a provision (§605) giving the Secretary of Homeland Security authority to waive certain limitations and restrictions in the SAFER statute. For grants awarded in FY2009 and FY2010, waivers permitted grantees to use SAFER funds to rehire laid-off firefighters and fill positions eliminated through attrition, allow grants to extend longer than the five-year duration, and permit the amount of funding per position at levels exceeding the limit of $100,000.

The Department of Defense and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 ( P.L. 112-10 ) contained language that removed cost-share requirements and allowed SAFER grants to be used to rehire laid-off firefighters and fill positions eliminated through attrition. However, the law did not remove the requirement that SAFER grants fund a firefighter position for four years, with the fifth year funded wholly by the grant recipient. P.L. 112-10 also did not waive the cap of $100,000 per firefighter hired by a SAFER grant. According to fire service advocates, these unwaived SAFER requirements (the mandatory five-year position duration, the $100,000 cap) would be a disincentive for many communities to apply for SAFER grants, because localities would be reluctant to apply for grants that would require future expenditure of local funds.

P.L. 112-74 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2012, included language (§561) prohibiting using any funds to enforce all of the SAFER restrictions that have been lifted since FY2009. Additionally, Section 562 of P.L. 112-74 reinstated DHS waiver authority for the restrictions that were not lifted in the FY2011 appropriations bill ( P.L. 112-10 ).

Meanwhile, the SAFER reauthorization language in the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2012 ( P.L. 112-239 ) removed the $100,000 cap per firefighter hired, shortened the grant period from four to three years, removed the requirement to retain SAFER-hired firefighters for one year past the termination of federal grant support, and provided economic hardship waivers that will give DHS the authority to waive matching requirements and prohibitions on using SAFER funds for rehiring laid-off firefighters and filling positions eliminated through attrition.

The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 ( P.L. 113-6 ) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 ( P.L. 113-76 ) continued to grant DHS waiver authority from SAFER requirements. Specifically, DHS was allowed to waive cost sharing requirements, the three-year grant term, cost limits per firefighter hired, and the prohibition on using SAFER funds for rehiring laid-off firefighters and filling positions eliminated through attrition.

The same SAFER waiver authority was included in the Administration's FY2015 budget proposal and in the FY2015 House and Senate Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bills. In the bill report accompanying H.R. 4903 ( H.Rept. 113-481 ), the House Appropriations Committee noted that this annual waiver authority has been available since FY2009, and that the reauthorization of the SAFER program by the 112 th Congress ( P.L. 112-239 ) provided FEMA with permanent authority to waive certain matching and nonsupplantation requirements for grantees based on a determination that a grantee meets economic hardship criteria. Given that FEMA had been working with stakeholders to develop these criteria and that the agency hoped to soon be able to implement its new waiver authority, the committee expected that FY2015 would be the last instance in which annual waiver authority would be provided, and that any waivers in future fiscal years would be limited to the authorization provided in P.L. 112-239 .

The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2015 ( P.L. 114-4 ) was signed by the President on March 4, 2015. Section 557 of P.L. 114-4 provided SAFER waiver authority for FY2015.

The Administration's FY2016 budget would have maintained SAFER waiver authority for FY2016. S. 1619 , the Department of Homeland Security Act, 2016, would also have continued waiver authority. The accompanying bill report ( S.Rept. 114-68 ) directed FEMA to work with stakeholders and present a recommendation to the Senate Appropriations Committee on the feasibility of removing these waivers in future appropriations. However, neither the House bill ( H.R. 3128 ), nor the final Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 ( P.L. 114-113 ) contained the SAFER waiver provision for FY2016.

The Administration's FY2017, FY2018, and FY2019 budgets did not request SAFER waiver authority, and neither the House nor Senate Appropriations Committee bills contained SAFER waiver provisions. However, Section 307 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 ) again contained the previous waiver authority provision, stating that FEMA "may" grant SAFER waiver authority to allow SAFER funds for retaining and rehiring firefighters. However, for the 2018 round of SAFER awards, FEMA chose not to exercise that authority, and thus will not provide SAFER hiring grants for retaining or rehiring firefighters.

The House FY2019 Homeland Security appropriations bill would have continued the waiver authority in FY2019, while the Senate FY2019 Homeland security appropriations bill did not include the SAFER waiver authority provision. Ultimately, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 ( P.L. 116-6 ) included SAFER waiver authority for the FY2019 round of SAFER awards. The Administration's FY2020 budget proposal does not request SAFER waiver authority.

Implementation of the SAFER Program

For the latest information and updates on the application for and awarding of SAFER grants, see the official SAFER grant program website at https://www.fema.gov/staffing-adequate-fire-emergency-response-grants .

Table 4 shows the state-by-state distribution of SAFER grant funds, from FY2005 through FY2017. Table 5 shows the percentage distribution of SAFER grant funds by type of department (career, combination, volunteer) for FY2009 through FY2014, while Table 6 shows the percentage distribution of SAFER grant funds by community service area (urban, suburban, rural) for FY2009 through FY2014. Of the FY2014 SAFER awards, grants for hiring accounted for 90% of the total federal share of dollars awarded, while recruitment and retention accounted for 10%.

During 2014 and 2015, the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit of SAFER grants for fiscal years 2010 through 2012. On June 8, 2016, the DHS OIG released its report finding that 63% of SAFER grant recipients over that period did not comply with grant guidance and requirements to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of grant funds. The report recommended that FEMA's Grant Programs Directorate develop and implement an organizational framework to manage the risk of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. According to the report, FEMA has concurred with the OIG findings and has taken corrective actions to resolve the recommendations.

Meanwhile, the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2012 ( P.L. 112-239 ) directed GAO to prepare a report to Congress that includes an assessment of the effect of the changes made by P.L. 112-239 on the effectiveness, relative allocation, accountability, and administration of the fire grants. GAO was also directed to evaluate the extent to which those changes have enabled grant recipients to mitigate fire and fire-related and other hazards more effectively. In September 2016, GAO released its report, entitled Fire Grants: FEMA Could Enhance Program Administration and Performance Assessment. The report concluded that FEMA's fire grant policies and the awards made in FY2013 and FY2014 generally reflected the changes to the fire grant statute made by P.L. 112-239 , and that FEMA enhanced its assessment of program performance by establishing and reporting on measures of effectiveness of the grants. However, GAO also concluded that those performance measures do not include measurable performance targets linked to SAFER and AFG program goals, and that "aligning the fire grants programs' use of data on, and definitions of, critical infrastructure to award fire grants and assess program performance with the more objective, quantitative approach used by DHS and GPD [the Grants Program Directorate] for other programs and non-fire preparedness grants could enhance GPD's efforts to integrate the fire grants program into larger national preparedness efforts and more objectively assess the impact of fire grants."

Impact of 2018-2019 Government Shutdown

Firefighter assistance grants were impacted by the partial government shutdown. FEMA personnel who administer the grants were furloughed. For all three grant programs (AFG, SAFER, and FP&S) the application and awards process was delayed. For the 2018 awards round, the application windows for AFG and FP&S closed in October and December 2018, respectively, but the processing of those applications could not move forward. The opening of the 2018 round application window for SAFER grants was also delayed.

For grants already awarded (in the 2017 and previous rounds), grant recipients periodically draw down funds, either to reimburse expenditures already incurred, or in immediate advance of those expenditures. Grant recipients were unable to draw down funds during the shutdown, which may have disrupted the ability of the grantees to continue grant-funded activities, including personnel costs covered by SAFER grant awards, which extend for three years. This disruption may continue after the government shutdown has resolved due to a backlog of payment requests that need to be processed once furloughed FEMA grant personnel return to work.

Issues in the 116th Congress

SAFER grants are distributed to career, volunteer, combination, and paid-on-call fire departments serving urban, suburban, and rural areas. A continuing issue is how equitably and effectively grants are being distributed and used to protect the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel against fire and fire-related hazards.

Another continuing issue is budget appropriations for SAFER and AFG. As is the case with many federal programs, concerns over the federal budget deficit could impact budget levels for SAFER and AFG. At the same time, firefighter assistance budgets will likely receive heightened scrutiny from the fire service community, given the local budgetary shortfalls that many fire departments may face.