FIRE Act Grant

[TRUCK6018 50]

Congratulations to the Bedford Hills Fire Department for receiving a $61,902 award in the catagory of Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety in the twenty-fifth round of the 2003 Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) program.

[chris498 31]

Yes very good work on the part of the Hills! I'm proud of you boys!

[chris498 31]

Actually, there are quite a few fire departments in Westchester who recieved grants this year! Congratulations to all of them.... I'll see if I can't get all the departments who are getting these grants and list them later today.

[TRUCK6018 50]

The other departments that received grants earlier this year were:

White Plains for $62,069, Yonkers for $161,677, Mount Kisco for $85,500 and Village of Mamaroneck for $129,145. All were awarded the grants for the catagory of "fire operations and firefighter safety".

[chris498 31]

Buchanan, Irvington, and Rye Brook were also recipeants of Fire Act Grants this year..... sorry, I don't have the figures on how much they recieved.....

[SteveOFD 176]

All grant winners can be found on Firehouse.com

[x635 4,066]

Congrats to 2033,2032, and the rest of the "FDBH"!!!!

[TRUCK6018 50]

Buchanan received $22,160

[x635 4,066]

Interview with 2033 in this weekend's Bedford Record regarding this issue.

[CM36 4]

Briarcliff Manor Fire Dept. recieved a grant for $134,132 for Emergency Medical Services. Congrat to Briarcliff Manor FD

[chris498 31]

Round 27 was posted today. Eastchester FD got $48,861 for Fire Ops and FF Safety.... good work guys.

[chris498 31]

Round 31 of Fire Act Grant has been posted. Mount Vernon FD got $155,538 for firefighting ops/firefighter safety.

[BFD1054 1,552]

Thanks TRUCK6018, until reading your post, i was unaware that we(Buchanan) had recieved a grant. Until i went to our monthly meeting that is. Yes, we did recieve $22,160. To add to your post, the grant is for fire prevention and we intend to purchase a fire prevention trailer, not quite as big as Mohegans though. We will also use the money to update our multi-media for fire prevention. For more info on our grant and the intended uses of it, check out our web site: www.buchananfd.org and go to the current news section. BFD1054

[DRD 0]

I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my disgust in the fact that the City of Albany got $491,274 according to the list on Firehouse.com for Firefighting Operations and Firefighter Safety. If this is correct, and not a typo, all fire departments in the state should be appauled. A coincidence that the Governors office is protected by the AFD, and they got nearly half a million in Homeland Security funds...I think not. The most I have seen up until now has been nearly $200,000. Those Depts. in Westchester and Nassau are at much greater risk and are in need of additional funding, Not Albany.

[CM36 4]

I would have to agree with that, my department could use some grant money to upgrade our radio system to high band.

[CM36 4]

I heard that MVFD got 155,000 dollars form the fir grant that should help them.

[chris498 31]

Firehouse.com annonced today that the final round of fireact grants for this year has been released. $750,000,000 was given to fire departments across the US for various projects. Congrats to all of Westchester's recipients. Good luck next year to all who apply!

[Guest alsfirefighter]

DRD,

I have to disagree with your stance on Albany's grant money. From what I understand that money went to their firefighters for equipment, especially for turnout gear. It is complete ignorance in my opinion to bash any department for getting any money. The significance of the govoner's main office being there is of little significance being:

1. This is federal grant money

2. He has several offices all over the state, including a major one in NYC that was previously in the WTC

3. He was born, raised and was mayor of Peekskill and they got no funding this year.

I had a similiar incident with a person on firehouse.com when I discusses on a forum about how my dept. got grant money and the person was trying to bash us because we had just gotten a new ladder also, everyone has needs regardless of whom and where. I would take 500,000 if I could get it and outfit only half of what we still need in my dept. That's life with grants, if they got that much its because they proved it, and Albany isn't the only state capital city I'm sure that put in for money, they may be the only one that proved they have an obvious need for what they asked for!

[DRD 0]

I doubt very highly that anyone in the AFD would be able to convince me that they needed nearly half a million dollars in federal grant money. When I viewed the list of grant recepients and how much each department received I could not recall a single department that even came close to the AFD. If Albany needed nearly 500,000, maybe the state and the federal government could have given them 250 and told them to try again next year for the rest. I think members of some of the smaller departments all over the state would agree that they needed some of that money, and that much should not have been allocated to a single department. Maybe the AFD had an advantage when applying, I dont know for sure. It certainly may be a coincidence that they got the most out of all the NYS applicants. Despite the fact that there are numerous high profile terrorist targets in the City of Albany, I strongly believe that some of that money should have been allocated elsewhere. There are alot of departments in this state that have a need for money, turnout gear, apparatus, etc. and got nothing. I dont think it was fair to give that much to one department.

[Guest SpecOps]

Look how many grants Texas got

[DRD 0]

That is a lot of departments that received grants. I dont know if u have viewed all the lists, but did Texas have the most recipients? I briefly looked over the NJ list. That is where I found the highest I have seen so far, 518,000 for the Elizabeth, NJ FD. I believe that there is a big port in Elizabeth, I dont really know much about New Jersey. Perhaps they started a HazMat Team or other special operations team. Regardless, I still think that no municipality should get that much when there are so many departments in need also.

[x635 4,066]

I just would like to point out something here.

A grant should be something that is earned and something that is supplemental. You should work hard to get the grant, and demonstrate the need,for example Bedford Hills worked to get theirs.

Fire departments should depend on a supportive goverment (Don't complain unless you are politically active and vote!, Make the politicians know they have to give us the money. This goes for "Commisioners" too), wise spending (dont say you need money if you're spending $$ on BS, CUT THE FAT!!!), and innovative solutions as their primary source of money to aqquire/upgrade equipment. A grant should be an added bonus.

Their are many department's out there who have nothing,many rural communities with inaquate fire protection, that would love to have what the poorest (if their is even such a thing) department in WC has. It's my opinion that most department's in WC dont even really NEED the grant (How many fire safety trailers that are used once a year does the county have? Hasn't anybody heard of sharing, and maybe buying different pieces to have a more diverse arsenal of FP tools?!) Nobody shares, and everybody has to have their own do-dah whatever that may be, and by doing that in particular, you're taking away "food from the hungry".

I'm not saying nobody should get grants, but nobody should depend on them.

There is so much fat to be cut and so many solutions to make things affordable in the fire service in WC, nobody should have to depend (key word:depend) on grants to purchase anything that is critical. Anybody who is is basically gambling with peoples lives.

[chris498 31]

Here Here!!!! =D> Well put EMTbravo, well put! I think that is totally unfair for us to bash Albany..... has anybody been to Albany??? Know what their situation is? What is to say they aren't deservant of every penny they recieved? While we may be more proned to incidents (terrorism in WC) news flash..... things happen elsewhere too. Unhappy you didn't get what you wanted....reconsider what it was you asked for.....who wrote your grant? Maybe next time consult with a professional grant writer if what you asked for is not so absurd and you were not a receipiant. Also, did you get a grant last year??? We can't all get everything we want all of the time........

[DRD 0]

Lets clear something up... I am not bitter that my dept. did not receive any funds. There are many other departments around the state that really need the money, much more so than my dept. I have no doubt that Albany needs money also. Once again, too much went to one community. I honestly think that half a million is unnecessary for a single dept. Like EMTBravo said, nobody should depend on grants. If the AFD actually needed half a mil for turnout gear and equipment, then it sounds like they are dependent upon a grant to keep their firefighters safe. Turnout gear and related equipment should be in a departments budget, so you can purchase what you can afford every year, and not become dependent on outside funds. Long range planning is essential to keep your resources up to date. But, like Chris 498 said, we dont know their exact situation. And I am not "bashing" anyone. Just questioning why a single municipailty would receive that amount when many other municipalities need money. Every little bit helps...

[Guest alsfirefighter]

DRD your arguments lack support. You keep saying over and over that I'm sure there are other departments in the state that need or needed money. That isn't a valid argument in regards to grant applications and awards. Read this part carefully....

1. If you didn't put in for any, you get nothing.

2. If you put in for money, you only get what you ask for, so if any other dept. asked for $5, and the USFA deems it a need, they got $5. Albany asked for what they needed and was deemed a need, they got what they asked for.

Again you make overtones about them receiving "favortism" and yet you still haven't conceeded that being a state capital city has no play in a federal grant program.

As far as needing money for turnout gear, and that should be in dept.'s budgets, have you read the business section or watched fox new lately? NY State as a whole is in serious fiscal financial trouble, which filters down to local levels. I got news for you, my department got one of the largest grant awards in the state and maybe Westchester 2 years ago, and we asked to outfit every person with a full set of turnout gear, why? Because on average we have to fight for every dollar we get, add up salaries, budget cuts after 9/11 and so on..hard to get turnout gear for any entire dept and replace or get needed equipment on about $30,000/yr. If you want to make any argument, and this is why I'm sympathetic to Albany being bashed, fire districts in this state should be held to a higher accountability of funding and be held to a lower need then municipalities being districts get FD specific funding...NOT scrounging for every dollar that is being cut, trying to get a fraction of a tax dollar with every other agency in a municipality. Additionally most of the gear we were using was falling apart or non existant for some who didn't get a set in the initial purchase, and I won't get into how we ended up w/ 6oz nomex that embers were burning through, I still have my old jacket as a reminder of how one Chief went and bought the cheapest. I would have settled for mediocre. Without that grant money, I'd as well as my fellow dept. members would still be using gear that 1 couldn't be replaced and wasn't holding up to the conditions we use it under.

[DRD 0]

I am glad that we have a site like EMTBravo.com to have discussions like these. The site is great way for members of emergency services to express their thoughts and opinions. I for one am not taking anything anybody says personally, and I hope that nobody else is either, because that would just defeat the purpose of the forum. I appreciate the fact that people reply to my posts and spark further discussion. Back to the Fire Act Grant...

I agree 100% that if you dont apply, dont expect any money. The federal government is not here to provide handouts to needy fire department that won't ask for help.

As for "favoritism", politics is politics. I know very little about the Albany Fire Dept. and their relationship with the Governor's office. Therefore, I will no longer speculate as to what effect that relationship may, or may not have had, on the size of the grant. YES, the money comes from the feds, but politics is politics.

On to turnout gear... Once again, long term planning is key in every fire department. You get what you pay for. Its the same with fire apparatus. In most cases, you buy cheap you get cheap. Upon purchase of turnout gear a fire department should have a long range plan in place based on the life expectancy of the product, just like we do with fire apparatus. Money should be annually earmarked to cover another turnout gear purchase when the time comes. Yes, we certainly are in very harsh economic times, and we feel that in my department when it comes to our communications and fire apparatus. Perhaps, since we are beating this subject to death, we can begin to discuss the best ways to manage department financials and grant program guidance. We are all firefighters here with different opinions. Lets use this passion to help one another get ahead....Thanks.

DRD

[Guest ewsmith70]

I think that you are missing some points about the grants. You keep talking about terrorist targets. The point of the Assistance to Firefighters grant program is to help improve firefighter safety and citizen safety. WMD programs have been highlighted this year but the vast majority of grants are for more basic themes such as PPE, training, and radios. WMD programs grants are available in other grant programs. FEMA guarantees volunteer fire departments a higher percentage of the grant money. In fact FEMA reports that ~90% of last years awards were to volunteer departments. Also the City of Albany based on population size was required to provide 30% matching funds opposed to the 10% that smaller communities must match. And the grants purpose is to protect firefighters safety. So if Albany needs turnout gear or radios they need a lot more sets than a smaller department thus more cash. Cities are in dire fiscal situations and the vast majority of their budget is spent on salaries. That doesn’t leave much equipment. I'm glad the FEMA grant was here to improve the safety of Albany's firefighters. Instead of worrying about what others are getting we need to stick together and make sure this program continues and lobby for more funding for it.

[DRD 0]

Once again, we seem to agree while at the same time disagree..

I agree 100% with ewsmith70 in that we must stick together and contiue to lobby for more funds. The funds are for PPE and Firefighter Safety, but we would not have this money if it wasn't for the threat of terrorism. Just to repeat what I have said before, we must work together to assist each other in achieving success in the Fire Act Grant and related programs. We have discussed this topic of the AFD grant to a point where we are simply stating the same questions and answers over and over. Lets stop arguing, because we will never agree on why the AFD got as much as they did. I have my opinions and others people who post have theirs. That, again, is the purpose of the forum. But, we have disussed this long enough and it might be time to start discussing other topics related to this thread, such as the funding program in 2004 and how to help each other recieve these funds. Thank you all for the discussion on this topic, and once again, thank you EMTBravo for providing a forum in which emergency services personnel can discuss these matters...

DRD

[Guest alsfirefighter]

DRD, actually the money was earmarked long before 9/11. It was implemented by former impeached President Clinton. It was nearly cut by President Bush in money saving but the IAFF, IAFC, NVFC and others lobbied and got it to stay. Obviously the fact that the terrosit threat came to the forefront under our esteemed and proven leader President Bush, that helped keep the money as high as it is. But it was available long before the attack that changed our way of life forever. Again, I'm not arguing with you, just stating facts to either bolster or clarify some of your posts.