Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, sec. 15, 15 U.S.C. 2214; Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1978, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp., p. 329, and E.O. 12127, dated Mar. 31, 1979, 3 CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 376.
49 FR 39845, Oct. 11, 1984, unless otherwise noted.
The regulations in this part are issued under the authority of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (the Act), 15 U.S.C. 2201
(a) The Nominating Officials nominating Firefighters and Civil Defense Officers shall submit their nominations for the President's Award or Distinguished Public Safety Service Award to the Executive Secretary, Joint Public Safety Awards Board, National Emergency Training Center, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Copies of all nominations shall also be forwarded, depending on the category of the nominee, as follows:
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(b) The Nominating Officials nominating law enforcement, corrections or court officers shall submit their nominations for the President's Award or Distinguished Public Safety Service Awards to: Assistant Attorney General for Administration, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530.
(c) All nominations shall be submitted in writing in accordance with the requirements prescribed in this section and § 150.4 at the earliest practicable date after the performance of the act or acts for which the nomination is made. Nominations for each year shall be made before November 15; any received thereafter will be considered as having been made for the following year. However, for the year 1983, nominations may be made by February 28, 1985.
(d) Nominations for the President's Award or the Distinguished Public Safety Service Award should include the name of the candidate, his/her position, title and address, and public agency served, the locale where the candidate performs his/her duties, the name, address and telephone number of the nominating official, a summary describing the outstanding contribution, distinguished service or extraordinary valor, and the dates relating thereto. The description should be sufficiently concise and specific to justify the request for recognition of the public safety officer through the presentation of either of the awards. Copies of any published factual accounts of the nominee's accomplishment should also be attached when available.
(e) An annual invitation shall be issued by the Joint Board for nominations for the President's Award and, on behalf of the Attorney General and the Director of FEMA, for the Distinguished Public Safety Service Award. The invitation shall be issued by letter or by notice in apporpriate publications of interest to the public safety community. However, nominating officials need not wait for such invitation but may nominate at the most appropriate time in accordance with the other provisions of this part. Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under Control No. 3067-0150.
(a) Nominations for the President's Award of the Distinguished Public Safety Service Award shall be made on the basis of, and in conformity with, the following uniform criteria.
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(b) A nomination shall specify whether it is being submitted for the President's Award or the Distinguished Public Safety Award.
(a) A Joint Public Safety Awards Board (Joint Board) is hereby established to fulfill the responsibilities of the Director of FEMA and the Attorney General by administering the process of nomination for the President's Award and by participating in the selection process with the Executive Office of the President. The Joint Board shall consist of ten representatives who are Federal employees and are of appropriate rank (at or equivalent to grades GM-14 or above). Five persons shall be named by and represent the Director of FEMA, and five persons shall be named by and represent the Attorney General. The representatives serving on the Joint Board shall select one of their number to act as the chairperson.
(b) Representatives on the Joint Board shall serve in addition to their regular duties and without additional compensation. Consistent with the requirements of this part, the members of the Joint Board shall establish the procedures by which the selections for the President's Award shall be made to assure the timely presentation of these awards.
(c) A National Emergency Training Center employee shall act as Executive Secretary of the Joint Board. The Executive Secretary shall perform such functions as are appropriate to the Board's responsibilities, including the receipt of all nominations and the communication of nomination information, for the purpose of receiving comments thereon, from members of the public safety community pursuant to § 150.5(e). The Executive Secretary shall be appointed by the Associate Director, Training and Fire Programs of FEMA.
(d) The Joint Board shall review the nomimations for the President's Award and shall recommend to the Director, FEMA, and the Attorney General by February 1 of each year, those nominees determined by it to merit consideration for the President's Award together with reasons therefor. The Director and the Attorney General shall then recommend to the President those nominees determined by them to merit the President's Award, together with the reasons therefor. Recommendations for 1983 shall be submitted on or before March 29, 1985.
(e) The Joint Board may request that persons representing a cross-section of the national public safety community comment upon nominations made to the Board for the President's Award. Both the request for comments and the comments themselves shall be made in writing.
(a) The Joint Board shall consult with the Department of the Treasury and the Executive Office of the President in regard to the design and procurement of the appropriate citations and medal for the President's Award in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
(b) Insofar as practicable, the designs for Distinguised Public Safety Service Awards of FEMA and the Department of Justice shall be coordinate so as to avoid distinctly different recognition of the various public safety officers.
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(c) Individuals nominated for the President's Award who are considered not to meet the criteria for the Award by the Joint Board or who are not recommended to or selected by the President shall be automatically considered by the appropriate authority for nomination for the Distinguished Public Safety Service Award.
(d) Individuals nominated for the Distinguished Public Safety Service Award may be considered by the Joint Board for the President's Award if the Director of FEMA or the Attorney General determines that consideration for the President's Award is merited.
(a) Presentation of the President's Award shall be made at such time, place and circumstances as the Executive Office of the President directs. There shall not be more twelve President's Awards given out during any calendar year.
(b) Presentation of the Distinguished Public Safety Service Award shall be made by the Attorney General or the Director of FEMA or a designee at such time, place and circumstances as the Director of FEMA or the Attorney General determines. There is no limit on the number of these awards made during any calendar year.
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Nominations may only be submitted for acts, services, or contributions occurring within two years preceding the November 15 cut-off date described in § 150.3(c) of this part. However, nominations submitted prior to the February 28, 1985 cut-off date may be made for acts, services or contributions occurring on or after October 29, 1972 (two years before the effective date of the Act).
Secs. 11 and 21(b)(5), Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15
49 FR 5929, Feb. 16, 1984, unless otherwise noted.
Section 11 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, provides that “each fire service that engages in the fighting of a fire on property which is under the jurisdiction of the United States may file a claim with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the amount of direct expenses and direct losses incurred by such fire service as a result of fighting such fire.” This part, implements section 11 of the Act and governs the submission, determination, and appeal of claims under section 11.
Fire services, in any State, may file claims for reimbursement under section 11 and this part for the direct expenses and losses which are additional firefighting costs over and above normal operating costs incurred while fighting a fire on property which is under the jurisdiction of the United States. Section 11 requires that certain payments be deducted from those costs and that the Treasury Department will ordinarily pay the amount resulting from the application of that formula. Where the United States has entered into a contract (which is not a mutual aid agreement, defined in § 151.03) for the provision of fire protection, and it is the intent of the parties that reimbursement under section 11 is unavailable, this intent will normally govern. Where a mutual aid agreement is in effect between the claimant and an agency of the United States for the property upon which the fire occurred, reimbursement will be available in otherwise proper situations. However, any payments (including the value of services) rendered under the agreement during the term of the agreement (or the Federal fiscal year in which the fire occurred, if no term is discernible) shall be deducted from the costs claimed, pursuant to § 151.12.
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Any fire service in any State which believes it has a claim(s) cognizable under section 11 shall submit its claim(s) in writing within 90 days of the occurrence of the fire(s) for which a claim(s) is made. If the fire is of such duration that the claimant desires to submit a claim before its conclusion, it may do so, but only for the eligible costs actually incurred to date. Additional claims may be filed for costs
(a) Name, address, jurisdiction and nature (volunteer, private, municipal, etc.) of claimant's fire service organization;
(b) Name, title, address and telephone number of individual authorized by the claimant fire service to make this claim in its behalf and his/her certification as to the accuracy of the information provided;
(c) Name and telephone number of Federal employee familiar with the facts of the event and the name and address of the Federal agency having jurisdiction over the property on which the fire occurred;
(d) Proof of authority to fight the fire (source of alarm, whether fire service was requested by responsible Federal official or whether such an official accepted the assistance when offered);
(e) Personnel and equipment committed to fighting of fire (type of equipment and number of items); and an itemized list of direct expenses (e.g., hours of equipment operation, fuel costs, consumables, overtime pay and wages for any specially hired personnel) and direct losses (e.g., damaged or destroyed equipment, to include purchase cost, estimate of the cost of repairs, statement of depreciated value immediately preceding and subsequent to the damage or destruction and the extent of insurance coverage) actually incurred in fighting the fire. A statement should be included explaining why each such expense or loss is considered by the claimant not be a normal operating cost, or to be in excess of normal operating costs;
(f) Copy of fire report which includes the location of the fire, a description of the property burned, the time of alarm, etc.;
(g) Such other information or documentation as the Director considers relevant to those considerations to be made in determining the amount authorized for payment, as set forth in § 151.12 of these regulations;
(h) Source and amount of any payments received or to be received for the fiscal year in which the fire occurred, including taxes or payments in lieu of taxes and including all monies received or receivable from the United States through any program or agreement including categorical or block grants, and contracts, by the claimant fire service or its parent jurisdiction for the support of fire services on the property on which the fire occurred. If this information is available when the claim is submitted, it should accompany the claim. If it is not, the information should be submitted as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 days after the end of the Federal fiscal year in which the fire occurred.
(a) The Director shall determine the amount to be paid on a claim (subject to payment by the Department of the Treasury). The amount to be paid is the total of eligible expenses, costs and losses under paragraph (a)(1) of this section which exceeds the amount of payments under paragraph (a)(2) of this section. The Director shall establish the reimbursable amount by determining:
(1) The extent to which the fire service incurred additional firefighting costs, over and above its normal operating costs, in connection with the fire which is the subject of the claim, i.e., the “amount of costs”; and
(2) What payments, if any, including taxes or payments in lieu of taxes, the fire service or its parent jurisdiction has received from the United States for the support of fire services on the property on which the fire occurred.
(b) The Director will first determine the costs as contemplated in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. The Director will then notify the claimant as to that amount. The claimant must indicate within 30 days its acceptance or rejection of that amount.
(1) If the determination is accepted by the claimant, this will be the final and conclusive determination of the amount of costs by the claimant in conjunction with the fire for which the claims are submitted.
(2) If the claimant rejects this amount, it must notify the Director, within 30 days, of its reasons for its rejection. Upon receipt of notification of rejection, the Director shall reconsider his determination and notify the claimant of the results of the reconsideration. The amont determined on reconsideration will constitute the costs to be used by the Director in determining the reimbursable amount.
(c) Upon receipt of documentation from the claimant on the amount of payments the Federal Government has made for the support of fire services on the property in question, the Director will, following such verification or investigation as the Director may deem appropriate, calculate the full amount to be reimbursed under the section 11 formula as set forth in § 151.12(a). This calculation of the reimbursable amount is based upon the costs determined pursuant to § 151.12(b) and the documentation of Federal payments that the claimant submitted.
(d) The Director's determination of the reimbursable amount will be sent to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury shall, upon receipt of the claim and determination made under § 151.12 (a), (b), and (c), determine the amount authorized for payment, which shall be the amount actually available for payment from any monies in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated but subject to reimbursement (from any appropriations which may be available or which may be made available for the purpose) by the Federal department or agency under whose jurisdiction the fire occurred. This shall be a sum no greater, although it may be less, that the reimbursable amount determined by the Director, FEMA, with respect to the claim under § 151.12 (a), (b) and (c).
(e) Upon receipt of written notification from the claimant of its intention to accept the amount authorized as full settlement of the claim, accompanied by a properly executed document of release, the Director will forward the claim, a copy of the Director's determination and the claimant's document of release to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment of the claim in the amount authorized.
(f) Subject to the discovery of additional material evidence, the Director may reconsider any determination in this section, whether or not made as his final determination.
(a) If the claimant elects to protest the amount authorized for payment, after the applicable procedures of § 151.12 have been followed, it must within 30 days of receipt of notification of the amount authorized notify the Director in writing of its objections and set forth the reasons why the Director should reconsider the determination. The Director will upon notice of protest and receipt of additional evidence reconsider the determination of the amount of Federal payments under § 151.12(a)(2) but not the determination of the amount of costs under § 151.12(a)(1). The Director shall cause a reconsideration by the Secretary of the Treasury of the amount actually available and authorized for payment by the Treasury. The Director, upon receipt of the Secretary of the Treasury's reconsidered determination, will notify the claimant in writing of the amount authorized, upon reconsideration, for payment in full settlement of the claim.
(b) If the claimant elects to accept the amount authorized, upon reconsideration, for payment in full settlement of its claims, it must within 30 days (or a longer period of time acceptable to the Director) of its receipt of that determination notify the Director of its acceptance in writing accompanied bya properly executed document of release. Upon receipt of such notice and document of release, the Director will
If the claimant, after written notice by the Director of the amount authorized for payment in full settlement of the claim and after all applicable procedures of §§ 151.12 and 151.13 have been followed elects to dispute the amount authorized, it may then initiate action in the United States Claims Court, which shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim and enter judgment in accordance with section 11(d) of the Act.
At the discretion of the Director, all claims submitted under section 11 of the Act and all records of the claimant will be subject to audit by the Director or his/her designee. In addition, the Comptroller General of the United States or his/her designee shall have access to all books and records of all claimants making claims under section 11.
Claimant's officials or others who provide information or documentation under this part are subject to, among other laws, the criminal penalties of Title 18 of the United States Code, sections 287 and 1001, which punish the submission of false, fictitious or fraudulent claims and the making of false, fictitious or fraudulent statements and which provide for a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. For such a violation, the person is likewise subject to the civil penalties set out in 31 U.S.C. 3729 and 3730.
Federal Fire Protection and Control Act, 15 U.S.C., Section 2201
66 FR 15972, Mar. 21, 2001, unless otherwise noted.
This competitive grant program will provide funding directly to fire departments for the purposes described in the six eligible grant categories below. The funds cannot be used to pay for products and services contracted for, or purchased prior to the effective date of the grant. The six eligible categories for a fire department's expenditures of grant funds under this program follow below:
(a) Training firefighting personnel in fire-fighting, emergency response, supervision and safety, arson prevention and detection, handling of hazardous materials, or training firefighting personnel to provide training in any of these areas. Eligible uses of training funds include but are not limited to purchase of training curricula, training equipment and props, training services, attendance at formal training forums, etc.;
(b) Establishing and/or equipping wellness and fitness programs for firefighting personnel, including the procurement of medical services to ensure that the firefighting personnel are physically able to carry out their duties (purchase of medical equipment is not eligible under this category);
(c) Acquiring additional firefighting vehicles, including fire apparatus;
(d) Acquiring additional firefighting equipment, including equipment for individual communications and monitoring (integrated communications systems are not eligible);
(e) Acquiring personal protective equipment required for firefighting personnel by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other personal protective equipment for firefighting personnel; and
(f) Funding fire prevention programs.
(a) No applicant under this program can receive more than $750,000 in Federal grant funds under this program in any fiscal year regardless of the number of categories funded.
(b) As a condition of receiving a grant under this program, fire departments in areas serving populations over 50,000 must agree to match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 30 percent of the total project cost. Fire departments serving areas with a population of 50,000 or less will have to match the Federal grant funds with an amount of non-Federal funds equal to 10 percent of the total project cost.
(a) Recipient (Grantee) must agree to:
(1) Maintain operating expenditures in the funded grant category at a level equal to or greater than the average of their operating expenditures in the two fiscal years preceding the fiscal year in which assistance is awarded.
(2) Retain grant files and supporting documentation for three years after the conclusion of the grant.
(3) Make their grant files, books and records available for an audit to ensure compliance with any requirement of the grant program.
(4) Provide information to the U.S. Fire Administration's national fire incident reporting system (NFIRS) for the period covered by the assistance.
(b) FEMA activities:
(1) We will ensure that the funds are awarded based on the priorities and expected benefits articulated in the statute, this rule, and USFA's strategic plan.
(2) We will ensure that not less than five percent (5%) of the funds are made available to national, State, local, or community organizations, including fire departments, for the purpose of carrying out fire prevention programs.
(3) We will ensure that grants are made to fire departments located in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
(4) We will ensure that fire departments with volunteer staff, or staff comprised of a combination of career fire fighters and volunteers, receive a proportion of the total grant funding that is not less than the proportion of the United States population that those firefighting departments protect.
(a) We will use the narratives/supplemental information provided by the applicants in their grant applications to evaluate on a competitive basis the merits and benefits of each request for funding. Applicants must articulate
(b) Applicants will complete two narrative sections in the application package. The first section invites a short description of the planned uses for the grant funds. This narrative should explain why the grant funds are needed and why the department has not been able to fund the planned activities on its own. In the second narrative, the applicant will state the amount requested and detail the benefits the department or community will realize as a result of the grant award. Applicants may seek assistance in formulating their cost-benefit statement or any other justification required by the application by contacting our Grant Program Technical Assistance Center at 866-274-0960 or by email at
(c) In addition to the project narrative, the applicant must provide an itemized budget detailing the use of the grant funds. If an applicant is seeking funds in more than one category (eligible applicants may apply for up to two categories), the applicant must provide a narrative and an itemized budget for each category. The budget should be entered onto the form (FEMA Form 20-20) provided in the application package.
(d) Specific rating criteria for each of the eligible categories follow below. These rating criteria, in conjunction with the preliminary evaluation criteria, will provide an understanding of the cost effectiveness of the proposed projects.
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Using the evaluation criteria delineated above, a panel of subject matter experts will review each application to determine which applicants satisfy the grant program's eligibility parameters, the applicant's relative standing under the rating criteria, and the benefit to cost value of the proposed projects. We will make funding decisions based on the criteria, the demonstrated need of the applicant, and the benefits to be derived from the proposed projects. In order to fulfill our obligation under the law, we will also make funding decisions based on the type of fire department (paid, volunteer, or combination fire departments) and the size and character of the community it serves (urban, suburban, or rural).
(a) Grantees have up to twelve months, from the date of the notice of award, to incur obligations to fulfill their responsibilities under this grant program. Grantees may request funds from FEMA as reimbursement for expenditures made under the grant program or for immediate cash needs per FEMA regulations (44 CFR 13.21, more
(b) The recipients of funding under this program must report to us on how the grant funding was used. This will be accomplished via submission of a final report. Additionally, fire departments that receive funding under this program must agree to provide information to the national fire incident reporting system (NFIRS) for the period covered by the assistance.
Each year that this program is authorized, we will announce the grants availability via Notice of Funds Availability. That Notice will contain all pertinent information concerning the eligible funding categories, funding levels, application period, timelines, and deadlines.