$196,959 in new Federal Aid

TOTOWA V U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ, 8th) announced today that the Totowa Fire Department will receive a federal grant through his FIRE grant (aka Assistance to Fire Fighters Grant Program).  The Totowa Fire Department has been awarded a new federal FIRE grant in the amount of $196,959, which will be met with a 10% match from the Borough of Totowa, for a total of $216,654 in funding.  The funding will be used to purchase about 35-40 sets of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, commonly referred to as SCBAs. Additionally, Air Pack Face masks will be purchased and a Pass Alert for each SCBA pack--which is a device that lets off a piercing noise if the firefighter wearing it does not move for a few minutes so he/she can be found.

Fire departments across America have received grants under the program, which was directly created by Pascrells Firefighter Investment Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 2000.   With broad bi-partisan support, Pascrells program has grown from $100 million in fiscal year 2001 to $360 million in fiscal year 2002 to $750 million this year and $750 million for fiscal year 2004.  New Jersey Fire Departments have already received a total of over $28 million during the first three years of Pascrells program, with Passaic County Departments receiving $1,365,757 this year alone.

 The Totowa Fire Department certainly needed this funding--and thats what the FIRE grant program is there for, to meet unmet basic needs. Totowa Fire Marshal Alan Delvecchio was critical in the formation of the legislation that created this grant program--so Totowa is certainly a more than deserving recipient, said Pascrell.

Pascrell initially introduced the FIRE Act in July of 1998 after consulting with his public safety advisory committee.  At the end of 1998, the FIRE Act had little support in Washington, it only had 4 co-sponsors in Congress.

Pascrell re-introduced FIRE Act in March of 1999.  He then enlisted the support of the 7 seven major fire service organizations and told them to bang on every door in Congress and let Washington know that Congressman and Senators need to do more than just ride on fire trucks in parades.  By April of 2000, the bill had 285 co-sponsors, the highest number for any house bill in that session of Congress and was signed into law by President Clinton in 2000.

Pascrells FIRE Act was the first ever comprehensive national legislation dedicated to meet the special needs of Americas 32,000 volunteer, paid and part-paid fire departments.

The program is immensely popular, as 19,950 applications were received for the 2003 grant program.  The application period closed in early April 2003 and the total request of all departments, including the non-federal share, totaled approximately $2.5 billion.

Working with the major fire service organizations, FEMA crafted a program implementation framework that placed eligible grant activities into four program areas.  Fire departments could apply for eligible activities in one of four different programs:
"X Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety Program.  Includes training, wellness and fitness, firefighting equipment, personal protective equipment, and modifications to fire stations and facilities.

"X Fire Prevention Program.  Includes public education and awareness activities, fire codes enforcement activities, fire inspector certifications, purchase and installation of smoke alarms and fire suppression systems, wildland fire mitigation, and arson prevention and detection activities.

"X Emergency Medical Services Program.  Includes equipment, training, and wellness and fitness initiatives for fire-based EMS units.

"X Firefighting Vehicles Acquisition Program.  Includes pumpers, brush trucks, tankers, rescue, ambulances, quints, aerials, foam units, and fireboats.

Grantees share in the cost of the funded project at a percentage based on the population of their respective jurisdiction.  Grantees that serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or fewer residents are required to provide a non-Federal cost-share of 10%, while grantees that serve jurisdictions of over 50,000 provide a 30% cost-share.

The maximum amount an applicant can be awarded is $750,000 during any fiscal year. As part of the application, applicants had to demonstrate financial need and articulate the benefits to be derived from the grant funds.  Funding priorities for each of the activities were established utilizing recommendations from each of the nine major national fire service organizations.

Americas 32,000 paid, volunteer, and part-paid departments are all eligible for the grants under the program.  For more current information regarding the 2003 FIRE Grant (Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program), visit www.usfa.fema.gov.

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