The federal government offers a number of programs designed to assist rural fire departments seeking to improve their capacity to mitigate the hazards of wildfires in their communities. Although these programs share many of the same goals, they are each administered by different federal agencies, each having different rules, deadlines, and application processes. For rural chiefs hoping to tap into some of this federal largesse, the rewards can be great; successful departments receive grants for new apparatus, equipment, facilities, and training. Unfortunately, the array of programs can be confusing to anyone not familiar with the system, and the application process can be frustrating, scaring off some deserving organizations.
This article will help demystify the federal rural fire programs, pre-sent an overview of policies impacting and shaping these programs, and provide information regarding seven programs sponsored by the following federal agencies: the Departments of the Interior (USDI), Agriculture (USDA), Homeland Security (DHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and General Services Administration (GSA).
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
The USDI has allocated funds for its Rural Fire Assistance (RFA) program at the departmental level, but the program is administered by the four Interior agencies with wildfire responsibilities-the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Park Service (NPS), and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The RFA program provides grants to rural fire departments for the purchase of wildfire-related equipment and training and for funding of wildfire-related prevention and mitigation projects.
Grant recipients must be fire departments serving a community of less than 10,000. They should also be located in the vicinity of lands managed by the Interior agency from which funds are sought, typically close enough to provide initial attack assistance. The RFA program is designed to provide maximum flexibility to Interior fire management officers (FMO) at the field unit level, allowing FMOs to provide funds to key cooperators. The RFA program is as much about helping the fire department as it is about helping the Interior field units by developing more capable cooperators. Grantees must meet a 10-percent, nonfederal cash or in-kind match requirement. Grants have a maximum value of $20,000 but because of budget limitations are typically much less.
Each of the USDI bureaus administers a proportionate share of the total Interior RFA allocation, and the bureaus in turn delegate the program to their geographic regions and field offices. Although RFA program guidance requires collaboration with state wildfire agencies to prevent overlap with state-administered USDA programs, the RFA program is a federal-to-local program with grant funds flowing directly from the Interior agencies to fire departments.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The USDA initiatives intended expressly to assist rural fire departments are the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) and Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) programs, both administered by the Forest Service. The VFA program is the original federal rural fire grant program, created in 1972 as the Rural Community Fire Protection (RCFP) program. This program provides block grants to each state’s lead wildfire agency (usually the division or Department of Forestry), which then distributes the funds to rural fire departments within the state in accordance with Forest Service guidelines. Grant recipients must serve a community with a population of 10,000 or less. Grants to rural fire departments are made on a 50/50 federal funds to nonfederal funds or in-kind match basis.
The FEPP program predates VFA by nearly a decade. It was established in the 1960s as a means to transfer excess military equipment to state and local government agencies. This program had its roots in the Cold War civil defense programs. The FEPP program allows each state’s lead wildfire agency to receive excess federal personal property (anything except real estate) from military and civilian agencies on a permanent loan. The state agency may then pass the equipment on to local fire departments. The FEPP program remains very popular as a source of brush trucks for rural fire departments. Former military trucks such as the M-35 21⁄2-ton truck or the HMMWV (the Hummer) can be converted to brush truck configurations at low cost compared with the purchase of new apparatus.
Another bureau of USDA, the Rural Housing Service (RHS), administers a program of potential benefit to rural fire departments, Community Facilities Grants and Loans (CFGL). Through the CFGL program, the RHS provides grants, low-interest direct loans, and loan guarantees to rural communities of less than 20,000.
Rural fire departments are eligible under this program as entities of local government, fire districts, or nonprofit corporations. Unlike the Forest Service programs described above, CFGL is administered as a federal-to-local program, with state governments playing no administrative role. While CFGL grants and loans can be used to fund a number of “essential community facilities,” the eligible category of greatest interest to the fire service is “Fire, Rescue and Public Safety.” Eligible items of interest to wildfire mitigation and suppression include fire department facilities, apparatus, equipment, and communications.
The CFGL program can be of great benefit to rural fire departments, since it covers many of the gaps left by the other federal programs. Grants and loans provided under this program can be used to fund facility construction, expansion, and renovation-activities not allowable under most other fire assistance programs.
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The number of grants provided under this program is very limited, and fire departments will be competing with not only other public safety related projects but also infrastructure, health-care, and education projects. Because of this, the majority of program beneficiaries receive either direct federal loans or loan guarantees. For the fire department that can accept a loan, this program can be a useful auxiliary to grant programs.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Probably the best known federal assistance program is the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, originally administered by the U.S. Fire Administration and now by the DHS Office of Domestic Preparedness. The AFG program focuses on building basic firefighting and fire prevention capacity in local fire departments and can potentially fund a vast array of projects to include apparatus, equipment, and training for wildland fire purposes. Rural fire departments are well placed to compete for AFG grants. Firefighter safety is a key reason for the existence of this program, and wildfire training, equipment, and apparatus contribute to firefighter safety in rural areas prone to wildfire. Because rural and low-income communities are targeted for these funds, the constituencies served by rural fire departments enhance their chances for success.
A subset of the AFG program is the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants (FPSG) program. The legislation establishing the AFG program specifically requires that five percent of the total funding allocated be set aside for fire prevention grants, and the FPSG program represents this five percent. While not technically a separate program, FPSG is mentioned separately here because the focus of the program is significantly different from that of the parent AFG program. Like the AFG program, FPSG grants can be used to fund wildfire-related projects. The reasons given above that increase the competitiveness of rural fire departments for AFG funding also apply to the FPSG program.
Both the AFG and FPSG are federal-to-local programs without state government involvement in their administration. The two programs are not mutually exclusive, and fire departments may apply for and be awarded funds under both programs in the same year. The grants require a 10-percent match for communities of less than 50,000 and 30-percent match for communities greater than 50,000.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program administered by HUD is a long-standing program that allocates federal funds to community projects that benefit low-income residents. Eligible projects include public safety activity such as fire programs. For communities of less than 50,000-those most likely to be served by a rural fire department-HUD provides CDBG funds to the states for disbursement to communities.
Although there is potential for CDBG to provide funding for rural fire programs, applicants will be competing with core HUD projects such as low-income housing and community redevelopment. The similarly oriented USDA Rural Housing Service CFGL is a more likely source of funding for rural fire concerns. Still, rural chiefs should have an awareness of the CDBG program, since they may be able to receive funding for their programs as part of broader community projects.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
A property disposal program similar to the USDA Forest Service FEPP, the Federal Surplus Property Sales Program, is administered by the GSA. This program allows the disposal of surplus federal property to eligible public agencies, including rural fire departments. This program differs from FEPP in that it deals primarily with nonmilitary equipment, it allows the federal agencies to deal directly with local government entities, and recipients must pay a fair market price for equipment that still retains some value.
The most direct application for rural fire departments is the sale of older wildfire engines to local cooperators when federal fire management units receive newer models. Although the fire department must still pay for the used apparatus, it is still cheaper than purchasing new equipment. A further advantage of this program is that ownership is transferred entirely to the local entity so that it is not subject to federal and state inventory-control procedures.
The complex system of federal wildfire-related grant programs has evolved gradually from two different directions over several decades beginning with the creation of the USDA Forest Service RCFP in 1972 and the 1973 publication of America Burning. The original Forest Service programs can be considered the forerunner of all current USDA and USDI rural fire programs, with the USDI programs appearing as a result of the 2001 National Fire Plan initiative. The publication of America Burning is the catalyst that eventually led to the rural fire components of the DHS and HUD programs.
Although there is a degree of specialization among the various federal rural fire programs, there is also overlap. The existing arrangement may seem to create unnecessary confusion, additional bureaucracy, and redundant spending, thus resulting in inefficient distribution of taxpayer funds and a lower level of service to impacted communities. To a certain extent, this is a correct observation, but rural chiefs should not be too quick to demand a consolidated program as a “silver bullet” solution.
The current system of federal programs provides multiple funding avenues and good coverage for a range of project types. Should a fire department fail to win AFG funding for a project, the same project could successfully compete for an RFA grant. Staggered application windows for the various programs ensure that funding opportunities are available throughout the year rather than once annually. Some programs cover gaps left by others, such as the capacity for CFGL to fund property acquisition or improvement. Funds from multiple programs can be combined to leverage grant money. For example, a FEPP truck could be outfitted as a brush truck using USDI RFA funds.
Competition among federal agencies and between federal and state agencies for influence creates additional opportunities for rural fire chiefs politically savvy enough to understand and navigate the complexities of the system. For the modest price of educating oneself about the various programs, great rewards stand to be reaped. The current system provides a mix of federal-to-state and federal-to-local programs that chiefs can use to good advantage. Consolidation of federal rural fire programs under a single federal-to-state grant would eliminate the current advantageous arrangement. ■
■ JEREMY KELLER is the wildland/urban-interface fire specialist for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier, Mississippi, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He has worked in wildfire management since 1999. He has a master’s degree in forest management and is a certified forester.
■ BILL LOWE, EMT-P, is a captain with the Clayton County (GA) Fire Department, where he has worked for 25 years. He has a doctorate in human resource management and a post-doctorate in marketing management and will soon complete the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.
