Fire Management Assistance Grant Program and Policy Guide€¦ · 10/6/2020 · 6 This publication describes the FMAG Program basic provisions, application procedures, and 7 other

Fire Management Assistance Grant

Program and Policy Guide

DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Fire Management Assistance Grant Program and Policy Guide (Draft 1.0)

i

This Page Intentionally Left Blank.


Foreword to the 2020 FMAG Program and Policy Guide 1

On behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), I am pleased to issue the 2

First Edition of the FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program and Policy 3

Guide. This publication combines the FMAG Guide and FMAG policy into a single volume with 4

links to other publications and documents that provide additional process details. 5

This publication describes the FMAG Program basic provisions, application procedures, and 6

other related program guidance. The guide should be used by elected leaders, emergency 7

managers, financial management personnel, and other individuals who have the 8

responsibility for responding to wildfires. 9

This document incorporates and supersedes language from Public Assistance Program 10

publications, FMAG Guide, and 9500 Series documents. Previously, FMAG policies and 11

guidance were intermixed with those for FEMA’s Public Assistance program; however, these 12

two programs have distinct differences so separating them provides for administrative 13

clarity and reduces confusion regarding the applicability of the policies and guidance. FEMA 14

has merged and streamlined the language in the guide to: 15

• Provide clear and concise policy language to minimize multiple interpretations;16

• Eliminate duplicative language and redundancy; and 17

• Provide ease in searching for policy language on specific topics.18

This document also includes updates based on Title 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 19

part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for 20

Federal Awards. The rules at 2 CFR part 200 combined and superseded eight Office of 21

Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars. It also superseded 44 CFR part 13. 22

The table below describes notable updates to this version of the guide: 23

Administrative

1. Labor Costs, Donated Resources, Mutual Aid, and Duplication of Benefits

policies incorporated from 9500 series publications

2. HMGP Post Fire Mitigation language added

3. Added language allowing RA the option to review a declaration request the

following day after the request is submitted.

4. Declaration criteria language added to include “order of priority”.

5. Added language providing guidance on “Follow-on” Declaration Requests”

6. Added language regarding merging declared fires into a fire complex

7. Added language providing guidance on closing the Incident Period

8. Clarified and updated language regarding Indian Tribal Governments



i

Administrative

9. FMAG FEMA-State (FSA) and FEMA-Tribal Agreement (FTA) citations and

language updated

10. Added language allowing the use of Electronic signatures

11. Added CATEX language regarding EHP

12. Specified a 3-year Period of Performance (POP) for FMAG Grants

13. Updated Procurement and Contracting language

14. Added language that addresses Direct Federal Assistance

Cost Eligibility Added language to address certain ineligible costs from 44 CFR part 204

Language added regarding Equipment and Supplies

Incorporated additional language on procurement and contracting

The FMAG Program and Policy Guide is in effect for incidents declared on or after (Month, 24

day, and year to be added.) 25

FEMA will make updates to this guide on an annual basis as necessary and will conduct a 26

comprehensive review no less than every three years. If FEMA determines it necessary to 27

publish new or updated policy language before the next scheduled update, FEMA will update28

the electronic version of this document, issue a memo describing the additions or updates,29

and post both documents at https://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grant-30

program. 31

We look forward to your feedback to help inform the next version. 32

Please send any comments or suggestions to improve this Guide to: 33

FMAG Program 34

Public Assistance Division, 6th Floor, Rm 6NE-1006 35

Federal Emergency Management Agency 36

500 C Street, SW 37

Washington, D.C. 20438


https://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grant-program

https://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grant-program

Background 39

A wildfire’s behavior is unpredictable and can change direction unexpectedly, spread across 40

fire breaks and highways, and destroy or damage homes, buildings, and any other structures 41

in its path. Uncontrolled fires can rapidly turn into blazing infernos producing fear, economic 42

loss, disrupted lives, and loss of life and property. 43

Controlling fires is the responsibility first of the local community and then the State. At times, 44

however, their combined efforts are not sufficient to stop the spread of the fire and mitigate 45

fire risk to the built environment. When this occurs, the State may request Federal 46

assistance to supplement State, Tribal, and local efforts. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster 47

Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §5121, et 48

seq. (Stafford Act) authorizes the President to provide Fire Management Assistance in 49

response to a declared fire. Federal assistance is coordinated through the Department of 50

Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Under the FMAG 51

Program, FEMA provides assistance in the form of grants for equipment, supplies, and 52

personnel costs, to any State, tribal government, or local government for the mitigation, 53

management, and control of any fire on public or private forest land or grassland that 54

threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.1 55

The FMAG Program replaced FEMA’s Fire Suppression Assistance Program when Section 56

420 of the Stafford Act was amended by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Public Law 57

106-390 and is effective for all fires declared on or after October 30, 2001. In order to58

ensure proper implementation of the program, it is vital that those involved at any level with 59

the FMAG Program share a common understanding of the program policies and procedures. 60

To support this goal, FEMA has prepared this guide as an effort to provide the State, Tribal, 61

and local partners with information about the program.62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

1 Throughout this document, any references to State(s) also applies to Territories.


1

Table of Contents 70

Foreword to the 2020 FMAG Program and Policy Guide .......................................................... 71

Background .................................................................................................................................. 72

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 1 73

Chapter 1: Organization ................................................................................................................. 4 74

Purpose ....................................................................................................................................... 4 75

Supersession .............................................................................................................................. 4 76

Authorities and Foundational Documents ................................................................................ 5 77

Document Management and Maintenance ............................................................................. 5 78

Chapter 2: Declaration Process .................................................................................................... 8 79

Submitting a Declaration Request ............................................................................................ 8 80

Declaration Request Processing ............................................................................................... 8 81

Declaration Criteria ................................................................................................................ 9 82

Information for the Declaration Request.................................................................................. 9 83

Follow-on Declaration Request ........................................................................................... 10 84

Fire Complex ......................................................................................................................... 10 85

Incident Period ..................................................................................................................... 10 86

Duties, Roles, and Responsibilities ........................................................................................ 12 87

State Role ............................................................................................................................. 12 88

FEMA Regional Office Role .................................................................................................. 12 89

FEMA Headquarters Office Role ......................................................................................... 13 90

Appeal of Denied Declaration Request .............................................................................. 14 91

FEMA-State and FEMA-Tribal Agreements ......................................................................... 15 92

Electronic Signatures ........................................................................................................... 17 93

Inclusion of Affected Counties ............................................................................................ 17 94

Modifying a Declaration Request to Add Counties ............................................................ 18 95

Rollup .................................................................................................................................... 18 96

Direct Federal Assistance (DFA) .......................................................................................... 19 97

Chapter 3: Eligibility ..................................................................................................................... 20 98

Environmental and Historic Preservation ............................................................................... 20 99

Grant and Subgrant Applicants ............................................................................................... 20 100


2

Eligible Costs Overview ............................................................................................................ 21 101

Equipment and Supplies ..................................................................................................... 21 102

Labor Costs – Generally ...................................................................................................... 22 103

Travel and Per Diem ............................................................................................................ 25 104

Pre-Positioning Costs ........................................................................................................... 26 105

Emergency Work/Essential Assistance .............................................................................. 27 106

Temporary Repairs ............................................................................................................... 28 107

Mobilization and Demobilization......................................................................................... 28 108

Donated Resources ................................................................................................................. 29 109

Donated Resource Limitations ............................................................................................ 29 110

Post-Fire Hazard Mitigation Grants (HMGP Post Fire) ........................................................... 30 111

Ineligible Costs ......................................................................................................................... 30 112

Chapter 4: Mutual Aid .................................................................................................................. 32 113

Mutual Aid ................................................................................................................................ 32 114

Post-Incident Agreements ................................................................................................... 32 115

Eligibility ................................................................................................................................ 33 116

Chapter 5: Grant Management ................................................................................................... 35 117

Grant File .................................................................................................................................. 35 118

Grant Application and Approval Timeframe ....................................................................... 35 119

State or Tribal Mitigation Plan Requirement ...................................................................... 36 120

Period of Performance ......................................................................................................... 36 121

Request for Information ...................................................................................................... 36 122

Fire Cost Threshold .............................................................................................................. 37 123

Administrative Plan .............................................................................................................. 37 124

Recipient Responsibilities ....................................................................................................... 38 125

Subawards ................................................................................................................................ 39 126

Eligible Subaward Entities ................................................................................................... 39 127

Request for Fire Management Assistance Subgrant (RFMAS) (FF 089-0-24) ................. 39 128

Project Worksheets .................................................................................................................. 39 129

Procurement and Contracting Requirements .................................................................... 40 130

Procurement Standards ...................................................................................................... 41 131


3

Cost Share ................................................................................................................................ 44 132

Duplication of Benefits ........................................................................................................ 44 133

Negligence and Intentional Acts ......................................................................................... 46 134

Administrative Costs ............................................................................................................ 47 135

Recipient............................................................................................................................... 47 136

Appeals of Grant Eligibility ....................................................................................................... 48 137

Grant Closeouts........................................................................................................................ 49 138

Audit Requirements and Documentation ............................................................................... 50 139

Audits .................................................................................................................................... 50 140

Documentation ..................................................................................................................... 50 141

Appendix A: List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................... 50 142

Appendix B: Glossary ................................................................................................................... 51 143

Appendix C: Authorities and Foundational Documents ............................................................. 57 144

Appendix D: Documentation to Support Costs ............................................................................. 1 145

Appendix E: Effects on Community Functions/Services/Economy ............................................ 1 146

Appendix F: FMAG Forms............................................................................................................... 1 147

Appendix G: Fire Danger Rating Systems ..................................................................................... 2 148

Appendix H: References and Resources ...................................................................................... 8 149

Appendix I: Stafford Act, Part 420, Fire Management Assistance ........................................... 11 150

Appendix J: 44 CFR Part 204 ...................................................................................................... 13 151

Appendix K: Map of FEMA Regions ............................................................................................. 30 152

153


4

154

CHAPTER 1: ORGANIZATION 155

Purpose 156

This guide describes the basic provisions, processes, and procedures of the FMAG. Under 157

this cost-share grant program, FEMA provides grant assistance to assist in reimbursement 158

for equipment, supplies, and personnel to any state, Indian Tribal Government (tribal 159

government), or local government for the mitigation, management, and control2 of any 160

declared fire on public or private forest land or grassland that threatens such destruction as 161

would constitute a major disaster. 162

The FMAG Program is based on a partnership of FEMA, state, tribal, territorial, and local 163

officials, and is codified under Stafford Act, Title IV – Major Disaster Assistance Programs. 164

FEMA is responsible for managing the program, reviewing and approving declaration 165

requests, approving grants, and providing technical assistance to the state and applicants. 166

The State, in most cases, acts as the Recipient for the FMAG Program. FEMA, the state, and 167

the applicant are all responsible for grants awarded under the FMAG Program. The state, as168

the Recipient, educates potential applicants, works with FEMA to manage the program, and169

is responsible for implementing and monitoring the grants awarded under the program. 170

After a declaration, an Indian Tribal Government may choose to be a Recipient or, if 171

permitted under state law, it may act as a Subrecipient under the state. A tribal government 172

acting as the Recipient will assume the responsibilities of a “state” for the purpose of 173

administering the grant. 174

Local and tribal officials are responsible for providing accurate and sufficient data to the 175

state, including documenting costs incurred in response to an FMAG Program Declaration 176

and fire suppression efforts. 177

Supersession 178

This Guide does not supersede statutes, regulations, or Department of Homeland Security 179

(DHS) directives or manuals. 180

2 Mitigation, management, and control are those activities undertaken, generally during the incident period of a

declared fire, to minimize the immediate adverse effects and to manage and control the fire.


5

Authorities and Foundational Documents 181

The FMAG Program is based on a hierarchy of statutes, regulations, and policies. These 182

authorities govern the criteria under which FEMA provides funds under the FMAG Program. 183

Federal Statutes: Statutes are laws passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by the 184

President. They cannot be changed or waived by FEMA or any other government agency or 185

official. 186

The FMAG Program is authorized by section 420 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5187). 187

Section 420: 188

• Authorizes the President to provide Fire Management Assistance to state and local189

governments;190

• Requires coordination with the state and the Tribal Departments of Forestry;191

• Allows the President to provide Essential Assistance under Section 403 of the192

Stafford Act;193

• Allows 404 Hazard mitigation assistance when assistance is provided under section194

420; and195

• Requires the establishment of rules and regulations to carry out the program.196

Regulations: Regulations are rules designed to implement a statute based on an agency’s 197

interpretation of a statute. They establish the basic requirements for administering a 198

program. Typically, regulations are published through an official process that allows for 199

public comment. Regulations have the full force and effect of law and must be complied 200

with once they are implemented. The regulations published in Title 44 of the Code of Federal 201

Regulations, part 204 (44 CFR) part 204) govern the FMAG Program and detail the program 202

procedures, eligibility, and requirements. 203

Additional regulations regarding grant administration and allowable costs are found in 2 CFR 204

part 200—Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, And Audit Requirements 205

For Federal Awards. Recipients and Subrecipients of FMAG grants are required to adhere to 206

2 CFR part 200 in administering the grants. 207

Policies: Policies clarify or provide direction for specific situations within the parameters 208

established by the Stafford Act and regulations that pertain to the FMAG Program. FEMA 209

writes and publishes policies to ensure consistency in interpretation across the nation. 210

FMAG Program policies are included in other Public Assistance (PA) program policies. 211

Document Management and Maintenance 212

The FEMA Office of Response and Recovery (ORR), Doctrine and Policy Office is responsible 213

for the management and maintenance of this document. Comments and feedback from 214


6

FEMA personnel and stakeholders regarding this document should be directed to the 215

Doctrine and Policy Office at FEMA headquarters (HQ). 216

217


7

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

This Page Intentionally Left Blank. 227

228


8

CHAPTER 2: DECLARATION PROCESS 229

Submitting a Declaration Request 230

When an uncontrolled fire on non-federal public or private forest or grassland is such a 231

threat that, in the opinion of the on-scene commanders or other government officials, the 232

fire threatens such destruction that would constitute a major disaster, the Governor may 233

request assistance from the FMAG Program. 234

To begin the FMAG Program declaration process, the Governor of a state or the Governor’s 235

Authorized Representative (GAR) submits a request for a Fire Management Assistance 236

declaration. In addition to the declaration request, the Governor may also designate the GAR 237

to execute, on behalf of the state, all necessary documents for requesting fire management 238

assistance. 239

Declaration Request Processing 240

The Governor or GAR must submit a request while the fire is burning uncontrolled and 241

threatening such destruction as would constitute a major disaster (44 CFR § 204.22). 3 To 242

ensure a fire’s threat level as a major disaster is documented as soon as possible, the state 243

should submit data and information that documents the severity of the fire and threat level.244

All available documentation should be submitted day or night in accordance with 245

established regional procedures. To expedite processing the state’s declaration request, the 246

request should be submitted verbally by telephone to the FEMA Regional Administrator (RA) 247

or designated FEMA Regional Fire Duty Officer (FDO), Fire Action Officer (FAO), or other 248

assigned staff. 249

When submitting a declaration request, the Governor of a state or the GAR should provide 250

factual data and professional estimates as available to support the request. The state’s 251

verbal request must be followed up with the completed Request for Fire Management 252

Assistance Declaration, FEMA Form (FF) 078-0-1. The information on FF 078-0-1 provides 253

written confirmation of information submitted during the telephone declaration request and 254

is required for official FEMA files. All official forms, including the FF 078-0-1 and the 255

Principal Advisor’s Report, FF 078-0-2, must be received in FEMA’s HQ Declaration Office 256

within 14 days of the date of the phone request to the FEMA regional office. 257

The FEMA region will review and evaluate the fire data and information submitted by the 258

state and render a decision based on the conditions that existed at the time the 259

documentation was submitted. Using the data and information submitted by the state at the 260

3 Indian tribal governments may not directly request FMAG declarations. See 42 U.S.C. § 5187, Stafford Act §

420.


9

time of the request, the RA may review the declaration request and make a decision either 261

at the time the request is submitted or the following day. As part of the decision-making 262

process, the region, state, and Principal Advisor may ask questions and exchange 263

information at any time to clarify or verify the data and information previously submitted. 264

Declaration Criteria 265

While all four of the following criteria from 44 CFR § 204.21 are considered when evaluating 266

a request for an FMAG declaration, the criteria are considered in order of descending priority 267

during the evaluation process of a threat of a fire or fire complex: 268

• Threat to lives and improved property, including threats to critical269

facilities/infrastructure and critical watershed areas;270

• Availability of state and local firefighting resources;271

• High fire danger conditions, as indicated by nationally accepted indices such as the272

National Fire Danger Ratings System (NFDRS); and273

• Potential major economic impact.4274

Information for the Declaration Request 275

Required Information: For FEMA to apply the evaluation criteria in 44 CFR § 204.21, the 276

following information, if available, should be included in both the verbal and written 277

requests: 278

• Size of fire(s) in acres or square miles;279

• Name, location, and population of community(ies) threatened;280

• Number of primary and secondary residences and businesses threatened;281

• Distance of fire to nearest communities;282

• Number of persons evacuated to date, if applicable;283

• Current and predicted (24-hour) weather conditions; and284

• Degree to which state and local resources are committed to this fire and other fires in285

federal, state, or local jurisdictions.286

To further support a declaration request, the state may append additional documentation to 287

the Request for Fire Management Assistance Declaration, including: 288

• Fire severity maps;289

• Geographic, topographical, or land assessment maps; or290

• Incident status summary report (ICS-209).291

4 Appendix E has information that may be used to determine the potential major economic impact.


10

Follow-on Declaration Request 292

A state may resubmit a previously denied FMAG declaration request as long as the fire is still 293

burning uncontrolled and threatening such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. 294

The follow-on request should contain new or additional information/data that reflects a 295

change in the fire’s threat level. Once the fire is controlled, the state may not resubmit a 296

request, but may submit an appeal as discussed under “Appeal of Denied Declaration 297

Request” on page 10. 298

Fire Complex 299

A state may submit a request to the RA for an FMAG declaration for a fire complex. Pursuant 300

to 44 CFR § 204.3, all fires within the complex should be located in the same general area. 301

All fires within a complex should be managed by the same Incident Commander and should 302

be approved under the fire declaration. Even though an entire complex may be designated 303

in a declaration request, not all fires within the complex will automatically qualify. FEMA, in 304

cooperation with the state, will determine which fires are eligible under the FMAG 305

declaration. 306

A state may request that FEMA HQ merge one or more declared fires into an existing 307

declared fire complex when the following criteria are met: 308

• The fires are managed by the same incident commander; 309

• The fire(s) to be joined to the complex must each meet all criteria for an FMAG310

declaration, including the threat of a major disaster; 311

• The fire(s) are in close geographic proximity or have burned together; and,312

Fires administratively joined into a complex must have a single incident period whose313

dates are determined in accordance with FMAG regulations and policy.314

Incident Period 315

The RA in consultation with the GAR and Principal Advisor, determine the dates of the 316

incident periods. The Incident Period (IP) of an FMAG declared fire usually begins on the 317

date of the declaration. If the state requests that an IP starts before the date of the state’s 318

declaration request, the factors and circumstances supporting that request should be 319

documented by the GAR and reviewed and approved by the RA. Potentially eligible factors 320

that may affect the start date of the IP include, but are not limited to, documented 321

immediate threats to life and property that occurred prior to the declaration request where 322

evacuations or other actions were necessary to prevent loss of life, property, or damage to 323

critical infrastructure or critical watershed areas. 324


11

The IP is normally considered closed when the fire is controlled as defined by the National 325

Wildfire Coordinating Group.5 Other factors to consider in closing the IP may include one or 326

more the following: 327

• The fire threat to homes/critical public facilities no longer exists;328

• Evacuation orders have been lifted;329

• Roadblocks and road closures have been lifted;330

• Fire suppression resources are demobilizing from the incident;331

• Transition to lower level Incident Management Team;332

• High confidence in security of fire suppression containment lines;333

• Absence of approaching weather event which may impact fire behavior; or334

• Percent of containment.335

All FMAG incident periods administratively begin at 0001 (12:01am) in the time zone of the 336

fire on the approved declaration date and end at 2359 (11:59pm) in the time zone of the 337

fire on the approved date of closure. “As stated in the “Fire Complex” section, fires 338

administratively joined into a complex must share a common IP. The common IP is 339

determined by the RA in consultation with the Incident Commander and Principal Advisor. 340

Generally, wildland firefighting costs must be incurred during the IP of a declared fire to be 341

considered eligible under 44 CFR § 204.42(a). However, costs related to pre-positioning,342

mobilizing, and demobilizing incurred outside of the approved IP may be determined to be343

eligible costs. These costs are discussed in detail in Chapter Three: Eligibility. 344

The beginning and ending dates of the declared fire(s) or fire complex IP are official as 345

documented in Attachment C from the FEMA FMAG State Agreement (FSA). Any change to 346

the IP requires the submission of a revised Attachment C. 347

Tribal Government Assistance Under FMAG 348

“Tribal governments that received assistance under the FMAG program can choose to seek 349

additional FEMA assistance (assistance not covered under the FMAG) in a number of ways: 350

(1) request their own major disaster or emergency declaration6; (2) be Recipients under a351

state major disaster or emergency declaration; or (3) be Subrecipients under a state major352

disaster or emergency declaration. Tribal governments that request their own major disaster353

5 In accordance with the NWCG, controlled means: “Completion of control line around a fire, any spot fires

therefrom, and any interior islands to be saved; burned out any unburned area adjacent to the fire side of the

control lines; and cool down all hot spots that are immediate threats to the control line, until the lines can

reasonably be expected to hold under the foreseeable conditions.” 6 The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act gave federally recognized tribal governments the authority to request

their own major disaster or emergency declarations.


12

or emergency declarations have different declaration factors and are not held the per capita 354

indicators used for states or counties.” 355

Duties, Roles, and Responsibilities 356

State Role 357

The Governor or GAR is responsible for submitting a fire declaration request. The request 358

should be submitted by telephone to the FDO or FAO. Following a phone request, the 359

Governor or GAR must complete the Request for Fire Management Assistance Declaration, 360

FF 078-0-1, and submit it to the RA no later than 14 days after the date of the initial phone 361

request. 362

FEMA Regional Office Role 363

The regional office is responsible for receiving the declaration request, obtaining additional 364

information from the state if the declaration request is incomplete or insufficient to make a 365

determination, and for making the declaration decision. 366

Within the regional office, the FDO, FAO, or other assigned staff are the primary point of 367

contact for FMAG requests. The FDO or FAO will request an assessment of the fire from the 368

Principal Advisor.7 After all the information is obtained from the state and verified with the 369

assistance of the Principal Advisor, the FDO or FAO contacts the Region’s Recovery Division 370

Director for a briefing prior to briefing the RA. The RA approves or denies the request. If the 371

request is approved, the Regional Fire Duty Liaison receives the FMAG declaration number 372

from the HQ Office Declaration Unit and provides the number to the state. 373

The RA evaluates the declaration request and approves or denies the request based on: 374

• Evaluation criteria; 375

• Information provided in the state’s request; and 376

• Principal Advisor’s Report. 377

The threat posed by a fire or fire complex is evaluated using the state’s declaration request. 378

The following information is used to evaluate the threat: 379

The fire or fire complex threatens lives and improved property, including critical 380

facilities/infrastructure and critical watersheds. Improved properties include, but are not 381

limited to: 382

• Homes (single family and multi-family [e.g., townhouses, condos, apartments]); 383

• Hospitals, prisons, and schools; 384

7 See “Principal Advisor’s Role” in the following section.


13

• Police and fire stations; 385

• Water treatment facilities; 386

• Public utilities; and 387

• Major roadways. 388

Availability of state and local firefighting resources: 389

• The degree of commitment by federal, state, tribal, and local resources to other fires; 390

and 391

• The lack of available federal, state, tribal, and local wildland firefighting resources. 392

High fire danger conditions as indicated by nationally accepted indices: 393

• NFDRS; 394

• Keetch-Byram Drought Index; 395

• Palmer Drought Index; 396

• Haines Index; and 397

• Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS). 398

Potential major economic impact: 399

• State level; 400

• Local level; and 401

• Regional level. 402

Following the RA’s decision, the region informs the state of the FMAG approval or denial. 403

Once a determination is rendered, the regional point of contact provides a summary email of 404

the declaration facts to the RA and other FEMA leadership. 405

Principal Advisor’s Role 406

The Principal Advisor provides technical assistance to the FDO or FAO regarding the fire or 407

fire complex that is under consideration for a declaration request. The Principal Advisor 408

completes the Principal Advisor’s Report (FF 078-0-2), and provides it to the FDO, FAO, or 409

reports the information verbally. Specifically, the Principal Advisor provides a technical 410

assessment regarding the weather, fire behavior, and fire prognosis. The Principal Advisor’s 411

Report (FF 078-0-2) is used to verify the information and facts submitted by the state, not to 412

recommend whether to approve or deny a state’s declaration request. 413

The Principal Advisor’s Report is included as part of the state’s declaration request package 414

submitted to the FEMA regional office. The Report should be submitted to FEMA’s regional 415

office no later than 14 days after the date of the state’s request for an FMAG declaration. 416

FEMA Headquarters Office Role 417

The Deputy Associate Administrator (AA) of the ORR, the Recovery Assistant Administrator, 418

and Declarations Section receive the region’s summary email of the declaration or denial 419


14

facts immediately following the decision to approve or deny the FMAG request by the RA. If 420

the declaration request was approved, the Declarations Unit responds to the FEMA region 421

with the FMAG number assigned to the declared fire and prepares and sends a letter from 422

the FEMA Administrator to the White House regarding the determination. Additionally, the 423

Declarations Unit provides the assigned FMAG declaration number to the FDO or FAO. 424

Appeal of Denied Declaration Request 425

If FEMA denies the state’s request for a declaration, the state 426

has one opportunity to appeal the denial. The appeal must be 427

submitted in writing to the RA no later than 30 days from the 428

date of the letter informing the state of the denial. The 429

appeal should contain any additional information that 430

strengthens the state’s original request for assistance. 431

The RA will review the appeal, prepare a recommendation, 432

and forward the appeal package to the FEMA HQ Office. The 433

FEMA HQ Office notifies the state of its determination, in writing, within 90 days of receipt of 434

the appeal or receipt of the additional requested information. 435

The state may request a time extension to submit the appeal. The request for an extension 436

must be submitted in writing to the RA no later than 30 days from the date of the letter 437

denying the declaration request. The request for an extension must include a justification for 438

the need for an extension. The FEMA HQ Office evaluates the need for the extension based 439

on the reasons cited in the request and renders a determination. The regional office will 440

notify the state in writing whether the extension request is granted or denied. 441

Indian Tribal Governments 442

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 204.22, Governors and GARs are the only officials authorized to 443

request FMAG declarations. Indian Tribal Governments are not authorized to make FMAG 444

declaration requests at this time. While tribal governments typically receive fire suppression 445

assistance through other federal agencies, they may seek assistance as a Recipient or as a 446

Subrecipient under a declared FMAG to the extent the requested assistance is not available 447

from another federal source. After a declaration is approved, a tribal government may act 448

as a Recipient, or it may act as a subrecipient under the State, if permitted under state law A Tribal 449

Government acting as Recipient assumes all responsibilities of a “state” for the purpose of 450

administering the grant. 451

Post-Declaration Mitigation Plan Requirements 452

A State or Indian Tribal Government intending to apply to FEMA for grant assistance under 453

the FMAG Program must have a formally approved State/Tribal Mitigation Plan. If the state 454

or tribal government does not have a FEMA-approved Mitigation Plan in accordance with 44 455

IMPORTANT

See page 6 of this

Guide on process to

submit a Follow-On

Declaration Request


15

CFR § 204.51(d)(2) it must formally submit a Mitigation Plan for FEMA’s review and 456

approval within 30 days of the signature date of the Amendment of the FSA for the FMAG 457

Program. FEMA has 45 days to review the plan. FEMA will not approve the application for 458

assistance under the FMAG Program if the state or tribal government does not have an 459

existing FEMA-approved Mitigation Plan or fails to submit one within the required timeframe. 460

FEMA-State and FEMA-Tribal Agreements 461

The FEMA -State Agreement or (FSA) or FEMA-Tribal Agreement (FTA) for the FMAG Program 462

(the Agreement) is a legally binding document that outlines the terms and conditions under 463

which grant funding is provided for FMAG declarations. The Agreement details applicable 464

laws and regulations governing the program. 465

The Agreement is in effect for one calendar year. It must be updated annually and, ideally, 466

should be signed each January before the start of fire season. The Agreement lists the GAR 467

or the Tribal Chief Executive (TAE), or the TCE’s Authorized Representative (TAR), and other 468

officials authorized to act on the behalf of the State. An FTA must be signed if an tribal 469

government wishes to serve as a Recipient. 470

The Agreement consists of 10 articles and three attachments. An FMAG FSA/FTA template 471

is available from the FEMA HQ Declarations Section or FMAG Program Office. The ten 472

articles and three Attachments are listed below: 473

Articles 474

I. Purpose and Background 475

II. General Provisions 476

• Grant Award Package 477

• FEMA Responsibilities 478

• State/Tribe Responsibilities 479

• Certification and Waivers 480

• Federal Assistance 481

• Controlling Authorities 482

III. Funding 483

• Payment Process 484

• Availability of Funding 485

IV. Reporting 486

• Federal Financing and Performance Reports 487

• Project Closeout 488


16

• Enforcement 489

• Records Retention 490

V. Recovery of Funds 491

• In General 492

• Duplication of Benefits 493

• Cooperation 494

• State Responsibilities 495

• Statute of Limitations 496

• Refunds, Rebates, and Credits 497

VI. Performance Periods 498

VII. Remedies for Non-Compliance 499

VIII. Attachments 500

IX. Amendments 501

X. Signatures and Effective Date 502

• Counterpart Signatures 503

• Effective Date 504

Attachments 505

Attachment A: State/Tribe Certification Officers 506

• Attachment A designates the GAR/TAR and Alternate GAR/TAR empowered by the 507

Governor/Tribal Chief Executive to execute all necessary documents for FMAG 508

Program, including the declaration request (in the case of the State) and application 509

for a Fire Management Assistance Grant. 510

(Note: In cases where an FTA has been signed by the Chief Executive 511

of the Indian Tribal Government, the State/Tribe Certification Officers 512

listed in Attachment A of the agreement designates and empowers an 513

Indian tribal representative and Alternate Tribal representative to 514

execute the application for an FMAG grant. Until Attachment A has 515

been completed, only the Chief Executive of the Indian Tribal 516

Government has the authority to submit the application for a Fire 517

Management Assistance Grant). 518

Attachment B: Certification for Contracts, Grants, Loans, and Cooperative Agreements 519

• This attachment certifies that no federal appropriated funds are used to influence or 520

attempt to influence officers or employees of an agency, member of Congress, an 521


17

officer of employee of Congress in connection with the awarding of a federal grant or 522

loan, cooperative agreement, or an extension continuation, renewal, amendment, or 523

modification of these. This certification is required by the regulations implementing 524

the “New Restrictions on Lobbying,” 44 CFR part 18. 525

Attachment C: Declaration Amendments 526

• After a state’s declaration request has been approved, the Governor or GAR should 527

immediately sign the Amendment (described below) of the FSA for the FMAG 528

Program. The Amendment must be signed by the state (or Indian Tribal Government 529

when appropriate) and FEMA for each declared fire that occurs within the calendar 530

year. 531

• The Amendment contains specific information for each declared fire, including the 532

name of the fire or fire complex, declaration number, affected counties, and IP. The 533

Amendment must be completed for each declared fire and appended to the 534

Agreement. The GAR or Chief Executive of the Indian Tribal Government as identified 535

on the list of State/Tribe Certification Officers can sign the Amendment on behalf of 536

the State or Indian Tribal Government. 537

If a state does not have a signed FSA prior to submitting a declaration request to FEMA, the 538

state should sign an Agreement immediately after FEMA has approved the declaration 539

request. If the Agreement is signed after the first fire is declared, the Governor must sign 540

both the Agreement and Attachment C. The state must sign and submit the Agreement prior 541

to, or with, the submittal of the FMAG Program grant assistance request (Request for 542

Federal Assistance, SF 424). Funding will not be obligated until the Governor signs the 543

Agreement (or Chief Executive of the Indian Tribal Government, when appropriate, signs). 544

Failure to sign the Agreement may result in denial of the FMAG. 545

Electronic Signatures 546

Electronic signatures may be used by a state or other government officials when submitting 547

FEMA Forms 078-0-1, 078-0-2, and 089-0-24. If electronic signatures are used by a state or 548

Indian Tribal Government, the governor of that State/Chief Executive must ensure that 549

authorization to e-sign documents is on file with the appropriate FEMA region and HQ. FEMA 550

will not accept e-signatures from a state or other government official if there is no legal 551

authority for authorization to e-sign documents for the Governor/Chief Executive GAR/TAR , 552

or other official. 553

Inclusion of Affected Counties 554

Block 15 of FF 078-0-1 (Request for Fire Management Assistance Declaration) provides an 555

entry for the county(ies) affected by the fire. Only one county is required to be listed on the 556

FF 078-0-1 at the time of submission. All counties affected by the declared fire must be 557

listed in Attachment C of the FSA when it is submitted. 558


18

Modifying a Declaration Request to Add Counties 559

If a declared fire or fire complex burns into adjacent counties, the additional counties 560

including any tribal lands, may be eligible for assistance under the declared fire. In order to 561

be eligible, the state must provide sufficient information to justify assistance for the 562

additional counties. The state must submit the same type of information for the requested 563

add-on county(ies) as was provided to FEMA for the original declaration request. All 564

information is evaluated on the threat of the fire, potential economic impact, weather 565

conditions, and committed and available resources. Once all information is submitted, FEMA 566

will evaluate and decide whether to designate the additional county(ies). If the request to 567

add counties is denied, the appeal process is the same as that for a denied fire declaration 568

request as described in this guide and in 44 CFR § 204.26. 569

Fires Crossing State Lines 570

If a declared fire crosses from one State into another State, the adjacent State must request 571

their own FMAG declaration if they are seeking assistance. The declaration request will be 572

evaluated based on the threat posed by the fire in that State. 573

Rollup 574

In situations where a state has received an FMAG declaration(s), the state may ultimately 575

deem it necessary to request a major disaster or emergency declaration in response to the 576

wildfires or wildfire threat. The FMAG Program is FEMA’s primary vehicle to assist state, 577

tribes, and local governments responding to wildland fires. As such, FEMA will generally not 578

recommend a major disaster declaration for a wildland fire, unless the fire has significant 579

impacts and costs that cannot be addressed by the FMAG Program. Therefore, when 580

evaluating a request for a major disaster as a result of a wildland fire, FEMA will not use 581

costs that are eligible, or could have been eligible, under an FMAG declaration to meet the 582

state or countywide per capita indicators for the major disaster wildland fire declaration. 583

In order for FEMA to recommend that the President declare a major disaster, the request 584

must meet the indicators under 44 CFR § 206.37(c)(1) and 44 CFR § 206.48. To declare 585

an emergency, the request must meet the language under 44 CFR § 206.37(c)(2). 586


19

If either a major or an emergency declaration is 587

approved in addition to an FMAG declaration, 588

eligible costs may be claimed under the most 589

appropriate declaration. The Recipient must ensure 590

that costs claimed under one declaration type are 591

not also claimed and reimbursed under the other 592

declaration. In the case of a major disaster 593

declaration for a fire that received an FMAG 594

declaration, generally eligible costs should be 595

claimed under the major disaster declaration, so 596

that the state can maximize funding under the 597

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Figure 1 shows 598

the FEMA regions. 599

Direct Federal Assistance (DFA) 600

DFA is not authorized for FMAG declarations. 601

IMPORTANT

When evaluating a request for a

major disaster as a result of a

wildland fire, FEMA will not use

costs that are eligible, or could

have been eligible, under an

FMAG declaration to meet the

state or countywide per capita

indicators for the major disaster

wildland fire declaration.


20

CHAPTER 3: ELIGIBILITY 602

This section discusses the eligibility criteria for the FMAG 603

Program. These include: 604

• Eligible Applicants for Grants and Subawards; 605

• Eligible work and costs 606

Applicant eligibility and eligible costs are discussed in their 607

entirety in 44 CFR subpart C – Eligibility, § 204.41 – § 608

204.43. Figure 2 shows the criteria factors for a FMAG 609

Program. 610

Environmental and Historic Preservation 611

Fire Management Assistance Section 420 is excluded from National Environmental Policy 612

Act review via a categorical exclusion.8 613

Grant and Subgrant Applicants 614

Eligible Applicants: Those entities legally responsible for the firefighting activities for which 615

reimbursement is being requested. The following applicants are eligible to apply through the 616

Recipient: 617

• State agencies; 618

• Local governments; and 619

• Indian Tribal Governments. 620

Under an FMAG Program declaration, an affected tribal government may elect to serve as 621

Recipient, or it may act as a Subrecipient of the state. A tribal government acting as 622

Recipient must assume all the responsibilities of a state as outlined in 44 CFR part 204 for 623

the purpose of administering a grant. A tribal government must have an FTA and an 624

approved Tribal Mitigation Plan in place in order to serve as a Recipient. 625

Ineligible Applicants: Governmental entities that do not have legal responsibility for the 626

firefighting activities, privately owned entities, and volunteer firefighting organizations. 627

8 Appendix A, DHS List of Categorical Exclusions, Table 1, List of Categorical Exclusions, page A-28. Fire

management Assistance § 420. See link in this document, Appendix I. page 57 under Environmental

Protection Laws and Executive Orders (EOs).

Costs

Applicants

Figure 1 : FMAG Eligibility Factors


21

However, ineligible applicants may receive payment through a compact, mutual aid 628

agreement, or contract with an eligible applicant for eligible costs associated with the 629

declared fire or fire complex. Such payments are contingent on a FEMA determination that 630

the activities meet all other eligibility criteria. 631

Eligible Costs Overview 632

All eligible work and related costs must be associated with the IP of a declared fire. FMAG 633

Program eligible work directly related to the declared fire is documented into two general 634

categories: 635

• Category B – (Emergency Protective Measures): Limited assistance provided under 636

Section 403 of the Stafford Act; and 637

• Category H – (Fire-fighting Activities): Eligible work associated with fire-related 638

activities provided under Section 420 of the Stafford Act. 639

• Category Z – (Administrative costs): Limited assistance provided for costs associated 640

with requesting, obtaining, and administering a grant for a declared fire. 641

Eligible work performed must be: 642

• The legal responsibility of the applicant, whether it was performed by the applicant’s 643

own agents or through a secondary party as described in the preceding paragraphs; 644

• Required as a result of the declared fire; and 645

• Located within the designated area. 646

Eligible costs include, but are not limited to the 647

following: 648

• Equipment and supplies; 649

• Labor costs; 650

• Travel and per diem; 651

• Temporary repairs of damage caused by 652

firefighting activities; 653

• Mobilization and demobilization; and 654

• Limited pre-positioning costs approved by the 655

RA. 656

Recipient and Subrecipient administrative costs are discussed in Chapter 5: Grant 657

Management. Eligibility of costs incurred by entities working through Mutual Aid Agreements 658

is discussed in Chapter 4: Mutual Aid. 659

Equipment and Supplies 660

Eligible Costs

44 CFR part 204 and 2 CFR part

200—Uniform Administrative

Requirements, Cost Principles, And

Audit Requirements For Federal

Awards provide definitive guidance

on Eligible Costs and should be

consulted when making eligibility

determinations.


22

Purchase of supplies and equipment that are necessary to respond to the declared fire may 661

be eligible. The Recipient or Subrecipient, however, may be required to compensate FEMA 662

for the fair market value of the equipment and supplies when the items are no longer 663

needed for fire suppression activities. 664

Recipients and subrecipients should consult the applicable sections in 2 CFR part 200 for 665

complete guidance regarding equipment and supplies. These include, but are not limited to, 666

2 CFR § 200.33 and § 200.313 both titled “Equipment.” 2 CFR § 200.48 has guidance on 667

General Purpose Equipment. Guidance on supplies is found in 2 CFR § 200.94 and § 668

200.314. 669

FEMA will reimburse applicants for costs associated with equipment and supplies used on 670

declared fires. Eligible costs include: 671

• Personal comfort and safety items normally provided by the state under field 672

conditions for firefighter health and safety; 673

• Replacement of firefighting supplies, tools, and materials that are expended, lost, or 674

destroyed, with comparable items to the extent not covered by reasonable insurance. 675

Reimbursement for ownership and operation costs of applicant-owned equipment 676

based on equipment rate guidelines in 44 CFR § 206.228(a)(i), (ii), and (iii); 677

• Operation and maintenance costs of publicly owned, contracted, rented, or volunteer 678

firefighting department equipment to the extent any of these costs are not included 679

in applicable equipment rates; 680

• Payment for use of U.S. government-owned equipment based on reasonable actual 681

costs as billed by a federal agency and paid by the state. Reimbursement for the use 682

of Federal Excess Personal Property is based only on the direct cost for use of the 683

equipment; 684

• Repair of applicant-owned equipment is determined by FEMA’s regional office based 685

on repair of damaged applicant-owned equipment less insurance proceeds. The 686

FEMA regional office will determine equipment rate costs on the lowest applicable 687

equipment rates, which may be FEMA, the U.S. Forest Service, or state or local rates, 688

depending on the piece of equipment and the formula used to calculate the rate; and 689

• Costs to replace applicant-owned equipment that is lost or destroyed in firefighting 690

activities with comparable equipment of the same age, capacity, and condition to the 691

extent not covered by reasonable insurance. 692

Labor Costs – Generally 693

Federal assistance may be provided to eligible applicants for eligible labor costs incurred in 694

the performance of emergency work resulting from an FMAG-declared fire. 695


https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr200_main_02.tpl

23

Applicant Labor Policies 696

FEMA determines the eligibility of overtime, premium pay, and compensatory time costs 697

based on the Applicant’s pre-disaster written labor policy, provided that the policy: 698

• Does not include a payment contingency clause subject to federal funding; 699

• Is applied uniformly regardless of a Stafford Act declaration; and 700

• Has set non-discretionary criteria for when the Applicant activates various pay types. 701

All costs, including premium pay, must be reasonable and equitable for the type of 702

work being performed. 703

If these requirements are not met, FEMA limits FMAG funding to reasonable costs for the 704

work performed. 705

Eligibility Criteria Based on Type of Employee 706

Budgeted Employees: For budgeted employees performing emergency work, only overtime 707

labor is eligible. Budgeted employees may include: 708

• Permanent employees 709

• Seasonal employees working during their normal season of employment 710

Unbudgeted Employees: For unbudgeted employees performing emergency work, both 711

straight-time and overtime labor are eligible. Unbudgeted employees may include: 712

• Permanent employees funded from an external source 713

• Temporary employees hired to perform eligible work 714

• Essential employees called back from administrative leave 715

• Seasonal employees who work outside of their normal season of employment 716

Backfill Employees: The costs of force account or temporary labor to backfill regular 717

employees who perform eligible emergency work may be eligible. There are several 718

circumstances that may affect the eligibility of costs to use backfill employees. 719

• If a backfill employee is hired on a contract or temporary basis, straight-time and 720

overtime costs are eligible. 721

• If a backfill employee is a budgeted employee, the cost of straight-time salaries and 722

benefits is not eligible, regardless of any inter-departmental agreements. 723

• If the backfill employee is a budgeted employee who is called in on their day off 724

(weekend or other off day), there may be an extra cost to the applicant. If so, regular 725

and overtime costs will be eligible. 726

• If the backfill employee is called in from scheduled leave, there should be no extra 727

cost as the leave can be rescheduled. Only the overtime is eligible. 728


24

• Generally, exempt employees (e.g., those who are exempt from minimum wage and 729

overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act) are not eligible for overtime, 730

unless specified in an applicant’s pre-disaster labor policy. 731

Other Labor Resources Including Labor Obtained Under Agreement: 732

• The straight-time and overtime costs of employees who are funded from sources 733

other than the applicant’s own budget (e.g., a grant from a federal agency, statutorily 734

dedicated funds, rate-payers) to work on specific non- disaster tasks are eligible 735

when they perform emergency work that the external source does not fund. FEMA 736

must confirm no duplication of funding prior to approval. 737

• Mutual aid costs are eligible in accordance with guidance in Chapter 4: Mutual Aid. 738

• Contract costs are eligible based on the terms of the contract, provided the Applicant 739

meets federal procurement and contracting requirements. The straight-time salary 740

and benefits of force account labor overseeing the contractors performing emergency 741

work are not eligible. 742

Volunteer Labor: The value of volunteers who perform eligible emergency work can be 743

credited toward the non-federal cost share of the applicant’s emergency work in accordance 744

with guidance in Chapter Three: Eligibility – Donated Resources. 745

Other Eligibility Considerations 746

Other eligibility considerations include: 747

• Extraordinary costs (including but not limited to, call back pay, night-time or weekend 748

differential pay, hazardous duty pay) for essential employees who are called back to 749

duty during administrative leave to perform disaster-related emergency work are 750

eligible if the costs were provided for in a written policy implemented prior to the 751

disaster. 752

• Salaries and benefits for employees sent home or told not to report due to 753

emergency conditions are not eligible for reimbursement. 754

In cases where firefighters are deployed to work on both declared and undeclared fires, the 755

applicant should track which days/hours are related to each fire. In the event it is not 756

tracked and documented, FEMA will evaluate any claims and determine whether sufficient 757

data is provided to fund costs on a prorated basis. 758

Stand-by Time 759

Subject to the provisions of the specific labor cost eligibility criteria above, FEMA will also 760

reimburse costs for stand-by time incurred in preparation for, and directly related to, actions 761

necessary to save lives and protect public health and safety, provided it is reasonable, 762

necessary, and consistent with the applicant’s practice in non-federally declared events. 763


25

Examples of when FEMA may reimburse stand-by time labor costs include, but are not 764

limited to: 765

• When bus drivers are prudently deployed to transport evacuees, even if the bus is not 766

ultimately used for evacuations; or 767

• When first responders are prudently deployed for the purpose of evacuating or 768

providing emergency medical care to survivors in order to save lives or protect health 769

and safety, even if the employee does not ultimately perform eligible emergency 770

work; or 771

• When a contract or union agreement requires payment for stand-by time. 772

Cost Reasonableness 773

In order to be eligible, costs must be reasonable and necessary in accordance with 774

2 CFR § 200.404. 775

Hours worked: FEMA will determine whether the number of hours claimed are reasonable 776

and necessary based on evaluating: 777

• The severity of the incident; 778

• Whether the work was performed at a time when it was necessary to work 779

extraordinary hours based on the circumstances of the incident; 780

• The function of the employee for which the hours are claimed; and, 781

• The number of consecutive hours the employee worked. 782

Stand-by time: FEMA will determine whether any stand-by time claimed is reasonable and 783

necessary based on the following: 784

• If there is a contractual obligation to pay for stand-by time based on a labor 785

agreement; and 786

• If the stand-by time occurred at a time when it was necessary to have resources 787

available to save lives and protect health and safety. 788

For instance, Applicants may be required to pay firefighter costs from portal-to-portal, which 789

may result in paying for 24-hour shifts with periods of rest. FEMA will reimburse costs based 790

on such requirements. However, FEMA will limit its reimbursement to that which is 791

reasonable and necessary, not to exceed 14 calendar days from the start of the IP. In 792

addition to all other documentation required to support labor costs, the Applicant must 793

provide the data that led to its decisions and actions. 794

Travel and Per Diem 795

Eligible costs include: 796


26

• Travel and per diem for all state, Indian tribal, and local governmental employees 797

who provide services requested by the Incident Commander and directly associated 798

with declared and eligible fire-related activities; and 799

• Field camps and meal costs when provided in lieu of per diem. 800

Pre-Positioning Costs 801

States may pre-position federal, out-of-state, state, international, and local resources during 802

extreme fire hazards to improve initial response capabilities. Pre-positioning is the 803

temporary relocation of existing fire prevention or suppression resources from an area of low 804

fire danger to one of higher fire danger in anticipation of an increase in fire activity likely to 805

constitute the threat of a major disaster. 806

Pre-positioning costs incurred up to a maximum of 21 days before the date of the fire 807

declaration may be eligible under the FMAG Program, even when staged outside the 808

designated area. Pre-positioning costs for out-of-state, state, federal, and international pre-809

positioned resources that were actually used on the declared fire are eligible. Pre-positioning 810

of privately-owned local resources (those physically located within a state) may be eligible; 811

however, state or local government-owned/operated resources are not eligible. Costs 812

incurred to pre-position resources that remained at the staging area and were not used on 813

the declared fire are not eligible. 814

For example, if one staging area has three helicopters pre-positioned and only one of the 815

helicopters is used in the wildland firefighting efforts for a declared fire, then only the pre-816

positioning costs for that one helicopter are eligible for funding. The use of one piece of 817

equipment on a declared fire does not make pre-positioning costs for an entire staging area 818

(e.g., all three helicopters) eligible for funding. 819

The RA must approve all pre-positioning costs. For pre-positioning costs to be eligible under 820

FMAG Program, the State must: 821

• Notify the RA of its intention to seek funding for pre-positioning resources at the time 822

it submits the declaration request (or immediately thereafter). Since pre-positioning 823

is undertaken in anticipation of an event, it is reasonable for a state to know whether 824

it anticipates submitting costs for pre-positioning at the time the declaration request 825

is approved or immediately thereafter; 826

• Document specific pre-positioned resources by number, type, and location; 827

• Estimate the cost of the pre-positioned resources and the duration of pre-positioning; 828

and, 829

• Provide detailed justification for pre-positioning, including scientific indicators such 830

as drought indices, current allocation of state firefighting resources, weather 831

conditions, and the number of wildland fires currently burning in the state. 832


27

Parties are encouraged to have a written mutual aid agreement in place prior to a declared 833

fire that addresses pre-positioning costs. For further guidance see Chapter 4: Mutual Aid. 834

Emergency Work/Essential Assistance 835

FEMA may provide funding under FMAG Program for essential assistance to reduce or 836

minimize immediate threats to life and property under Section 403 of the Stafford Act when 837

such assistance is directly related to the mitigation, management, and control of the 838

declared fire. 839

Mitigation, management, and control are those activities undertaken generally during the IP 840

of a declared fire to minimize the immediate adverse effects and to manage and control the 841

fire. Only emergency work performed during the IP of a declared fire is eligible for funding. 842

Essential mitigation, management, and control activities under section 403 may include: 843

• Police barricading and traffic control; 844

• Extraordinary emergency operations center expenses; 845

• Evacuation and sheltering (people, household pets, and service animals); 846

• Search and rescue; 847

• Arson patrol and investigation teams operating during the declared fire IP when there 848

is a clear continuing threat; 849

• Public information dissemination to inform people what to do during the declared 850

fire; 851

• Limited removal of burned or unburned trees (e.g., snags) that pose a threat to the 852

safety of the general public; and 853

• Where negligence or intentional setting of the fire are suspected, exigent and 854

immediate actions to secure and protect evidence that faces imminent destruction or 855

prevent a suspect’s imminent escape. 856

Mitigation activities designed to reduce the potential for future fires or to minimize damage 857

from future fires are ineligible for funding under FMAG Program. 858

Examples of eligible emergency work include: 859

• Search and rescue and emergency medical care; 860

• Reasonable supervision and administration in the receiving jurisdiction that is 861

directly related to eligible emergency work; 862

• The cost of transporting equipment and personnel by the Providing Entity to the 863

incident site, 864

• Costs incurred in the operation of the Incident Command System (ICS), such as 865

operations, planning, logistics, and administration, provided such costs are directly 866

related to the performance of eligible work on the declared fire to which such 867

resources are assigned; 868


28

• State Emergency Operations Center assistance in the receiving state to support 869

emergency assistance or Tribal Emergency Operations Center assistance (when 870

appropriate) and, 871

• Dissemination of public information authorized under Section 403 of the Act. 872

Examples of ineligible emergency work include: 873

• Training, exercises, on-the-job training; 874

• Costs for staff performing work that is not eligible under the FMAG program; 875

• Costs of preparing to deploy or “standing-by” (except to the extent allowed in 44 CFR 876

§ 204.42[e]); 877

• Dispatch operations outside the receiving state; 878

• Tracking of Emergency Management Assistance Contact (EMAC) and U.S. Forest 879

Service I-Suite/Incident Cost Accounting and Reporting System resources; and 880

• Situation reporting not associated with ICS operations. 881

Temporary Repairs 882

Temporary repair of damage caused by firefighting activities are short-term actions to repair 883

damage directly caused by firefighting efforts or activities. All temporary repair of damage 884

caused by firefighting activities must be completed within 30 days of the close of the IP for 885

the declared fire. It should be noted that temporary repair of damage caused by firefighting 886

activities does not include repair of damage caused by the declared fire. Additionally, the 887

eligible cost of temporary repairs is less any proceeds covered by insurance. 888

Examples of temporary repair activities that may be eligible for funding include: 889

• Minimal repairs to bulldozer lines, field camps, and staging areas to address safety 890

concerns. For example, severe gouging of the grounds of a heavily trafficked park or 891

recreation area may be eligible to be filled or boarded over to mitigate public safety 892

and health concerns. However, temporary repairs would not include a complete re-893

grading of an entire park or recreation area. 894

• Minimal repairs to facilities, such as fences, buildings, bridges, and roads damaged 895

by firefighting activities. For example, repair of a portion of a fence that was removed 896

to gain access to a declared fire with a section of chain link fence may be eligible. 897

Mobilization and Demobilization 898

Costs for mobilizing and demobilizing resources to and from a declared fire may be eligible 899

for reimbursement under the FMAG Program. 900

Mobilization is the process used for activating, assembling, and transporting all resources 901

the Recipient requested to respond to or support a declared fire. 902


29

Demobilization is the process of deactivating, disassembling, and transporting back to their 903

point of origin all wildland firefighting resources that had been provided to respond to and 904

support a declared fire. 905

Eligible demobilization costs may be incurred after the close of the IP, when the fire is 906

controlled, and may be claimed at a delayed date after other eligible costs. 907

If resources are continuously mobilized throughout multiple declared/non-declared fires, 908

incurred eligible de-mobilization costs may be claimed once for the last declared fire where 909

the resource was actually used. 910

Donated Resources 911

In some fires, individuals and organizations donate volunteer labor, equipment, and 912

material. FEMA has determined that the value of “in-kind” contributions by third parties may 913

be credited toward the calculation of the non-federal cost share. 914

Donated resources used on eligible work that is essential to meeting immediate threats to 915

life and property resulting from a declared-FMAG fire may be credited toward the non-federal 916

share of grant costs. Donated resources may include volunteer labor, donated equipment, 917

and donated materials. 918

Donated resources are eligible to offset the non-federal share of eligible Categories B and H, 919

if they meet the following criteria: 920

The donated resources must be documented by a local public official or a person designated 921

by a local public official. The documentation must include a record of hours worked, the 922

work site, and a description of work for each volunteer, and equivalent information for 923

equipment and materials. RAs may establish alternate documentation requirements when 924

required by an extraordinarily demanding situation. 925

The donated resources must apply to emergency work that has been organized by an eligible 926

applicant and is eligible under the FMAG Program. Examples include, but are not limited to: 927

• Donating equipment/materials to assist with fire-fighting operations; and 928

• Search and rescue when part of an organized search and rescue operation. 929

Donated resources must be documented on one or more Project Worksheets (PWs). 930

The value of donated resources must be calculated in accordance with 2 CFR § 200.306, 931

Cost sharing or matching. 932

Donated Resource Limitations 933

Donated resource limitations include the following: 934


30

• A state or tribe may claim credit for the value of donated resources only according to 935

the disaster cost share agreement for the non-federal share of cost for the eligible 936

work. 937

• Reasonable logistical support for volunteers doing eligible work may be considered938

an eligible cost or donations credit by the RA.939

• Donated resources submitted for credit toward the non-federal share may not be940

from another federal grant or from other federally-funded sources.941

• The donations credit is capped at the non-federal share of emergency work so that942

the federal share will not exceed the actual out-of-pocket cost.943

Post-Fire Hazard Mitigation Grants (HMGP Post Fire) 944

The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) allows FEMA to provide Hazard Mitigation 945

Grant Program (HMGP) grants under Section 404 in any area that received a FMAG 946

declaration even if no major Presidential declaration was declared. The assistance includes 947

measures that substantially reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, loss, or suffering in 948

any area affected by a major disaster, or any area affected by a fire for which assistance 949

was provided under section 420. 950

HMGP Post Fire is administratively separate from the FMAG Program and the regulations 951

and policies that govern these programs are distinct. 952

Questions about HMGP Post Fire regulations, policies, and procedures should be directed to 953

the appropriate Hazard Mitigation Grant Program staff. An HMGP Post Fire Fact Sheet and 954

the Final Policy can be found here: https://www.fema.gov/media-955

library/assets/documents/179296 956

Ineligible Costs 957

Ineligible costs include, but are not limited to the following: 958

• Costs not directly associated with the fire’s IP (with the exception of pre-positioning959

and mobilization/demobilization of eligible resources);960

• Costs incurred in the mitigation, management, and control of undeclared fires;961

• Costs for the straight or regular-time salaries and benefits of permanently employed962

or reassigned personnel of a Subrecipient;963

• Costs for mitigation, management, and control of a declared fire on commingled964

federal land when such costs are reimbursable to the state by a federal agency under965

another statute;966

• Assistance will only be provided for the declared fire responsible for meeting or967

exceeding the cumulative fire cost threshold and any future declared fires for that968

calendar year. Any previously declared fires during the calendar year which failed to969


https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/179296

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/179296

31

meet the individual fire cost threshold and did not trigger the cumulative fire cost 970

threshold are not eligible for any assistance under the FMAG Program; 971

• Time and costs expended by volunteer labor, which by nature is offered on a donated 972

basis and is not bound by contract or employment terms (see “Donated Resources” 973

section); 974

• Routine arson investigations; and, 975

• Costs related to planning, pre-suppression, recovery, and mitigation of possible 976

future damage related to the burn area of the declared fire, such as: 977

o Planning actions such as risk assessments; 978

o Cutting fire-breaks without the presence of an imminent threat; 979

o Pre-planned non-field training; 980

o Road widening; 981

o Land rehabilitation such as seeding, planting operations, or erosion control; 982

o Timber salvage; and 983

o Restoration of facilities damaged by fire. 984

985

986


32

CHAPTER 4: MUTUAL AID 987

Mutual Aid 988

When an Applicant does not have sufficient resources to respond to an incident, they may 989

request resources from another jurisdiction through a “mutual aid” agreement. FEMA refers 990

to the entity requesting resources as the Requesting Entity. FEMA refers to the entity 991

providing the requested resource as the Providing Entity. 992

FEMA provides FMAG funding to the Requesting Entity as it is legally responsible for the 993

work. FEMA does not provide FMAG funding directly to the Providing Entity. For the work to 994

be eligible, the Requesting Entity must have requested the resources provided. 995

Some states have a statewide mutual aid agreement that designates the state as being 996

responsible for reimbursing mutual aid costs. In these states, the Providing Entity may 997

request funding directly from the state, with prior consent of the Requesting Entity, in 998

accordance with applicable state laws and procedures. If the Requesting Entity and the 999

state approve the request and the state pays the Providing Entity, FEMA provides FMAG 1000

funding to the state. The Requesting Entity may be responsible for reimbursing the state for 1001

any non-federal local cost share, depending on specific state requirements. 1002

The Requesting Entity or state, if applicable, must provide a description of the services 1003

requested and received, along with documentation of associated costs (e.g., labor, 1004

equipment, supplies, or materials) to FEMA in support of a request for FMAG funding. 1005

Post-Incident Agreements 1006

When the Requesting and Providing Entities do not have a written agreement, or where such 1007

an agreement exists but is silent on reimbursement, the entities may verbally agree on the 1008

resources to be provided and on the terms, conditions, and costs of such assistance. 1009

The agreement should be consistent with past practices for mutual aid between the entities. 1010

For example, if the Requesting Entity does not normally reimburse a Providing Entity for its 1011

costs, it should not agree to do so specifically for the declared incident. 1012

Prior to funding, the Requesting Entity must document the verbal agreement in writing, have 1013

it executed by an official of each entity with the authority to request and provide assistance, 1014

and submit it to FEMA (preferably within 30 days of the Applicant’s Briefing).9 1015

9 The Recipient conducts Applicant Briefings to provide FMAG Program information to potential applicants.


33

Eligibility 1016

Mutual aid is available for Category B (Emergency Work), Category H (Fire Suppression), and 1017

Category Z (Grant Management). Mutual aid work is subject to the same eligibility criteria as 1018

contract work. Costs to transport the Providing Entity’s equipment and personnel to the 1019

declared area are eligible. 1020

Ineligible work performed by a Providing Entity includes, but is not limited to: 1021

• Preparing to deploy or “standing-by”; 1022

• Dispatch operations outside the receiving state, territory, or tribe; 1023

• Training and exercises; and 1024

• Support for long-term recovery and mitigation operations. 1025

1026

The Providing Entity’s straight-time and overtime labor are eligible, including fringe benefits. 1027

When the Requesting Entity is a state, territorial, tribal, or local government and the 1028

Providing Entity is another division within the same state, territorial, tribal, or local 1029

government, straight-time for budgeted employees of the Providing Entity is not eligible. 1030

Overtime costs for the backfill employee are eligible even if the backfill employee is not 1031

performing eligible work as long as the employee that he/she is replacing is performing 1032

eligible Emergency Work. However, straight-time for backfill personnel is not eligible. 1033

FEMA reimburses the use of equipment provided to a Requesting Entity based on either the 1034

terms of the agreement or equipment rates. FEMA provides FMAG funding to repair damage 1035

to this equipment the same way as it provides FMAG funding to repair damage to Applicant-1036

owned equipment as described in Chapter 3: Eligibility. 1037

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) 1038

The EMAC is a national interstate mutual aid agreement that enables States and territories 1039

to share resources in response to an incident. Work performed outside the receiving state or 1040

territory that is associated with the operation of EMAC, including tracking of resources, is not 1041

eligible unless the work is associated with the receiving state’s or territory’s emergency 1042

operations for the incident. 1043

Tribal governments cannot participate in EMACs due to statutory exclusion, however tribes 1044

can establish mutual aid agreements as a Providing or Requesting Entity with surrounding 1045

jurisdictions or with other tribal nations. 1046


34

Prisoners 1047

FEMA provides FMAG funding for prisoner labor costs based on the rate that the Applicant 1048

normally pays prisoners. FEMA also provides FMAG funding for prisoner transportation to the 1049

worksite and extraordinary costs of security guards, food, and lodging. 1050

National Guard 1051

The Governor may activate National Guard personnel to State Active Duty in response to an 1052

incident. Labor costs and per diem, if applicable, are eligible for State Active Duty personnel 1053

performing eligible work. Both straight-time and overtime are eligible, including fringe 1054

benefits. 1055

The U.S. Department of Defense funds National Guard personnel activated under Full-Time 1056

National Guard Duty (Title 32) or Active Duty (Title 10). Therefore, Title 32 and Title 10, 1057

personnel costs and any other costs funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, such as 1058

training, are not eligible. 1059

1060


35

CHAPTER 5: GRANT MANAGEMENT 1061

The Recipient is the State or Indian Tribal Government receiving an FMAG Program grant 1062

and is responsible for administering the grant. There is only one Recipient for each declared 1063

fire, except when a State Recipient and an Tribal Recipient are under the same fire 1064

declaration. Only the state agency as designated by the Governor in the FSA for FMAG 1065

Program for the declared fire, or a tribal government, can be designated as the Recipient. 1066

General administrative requirements for grants and cooperative agreements are found in 2 1067

CFR part 200. Additional program specific requirements for the FMAG Program are found in 1068

44 CFR part 204. 1069

Grant File 1070

The regional office maintains an FMAG grant file that may include the following forms:10 1071

• SF-424 Request for Federal Assistance 1072

• FF-078-0-1 Request for Fire Management Declaration 1073

• FF-078-0-2 Principal Advisor’s Report 1074

• FF-089-0-24 Request for Fire Management Assistance Subgrant (RFMAS) 1075

• FF-009-0-0-7 Project Worksheet (PW) 1076

• FF-20-16a Assurances Non-Construction Programs 1077

• SF-269 Financial Status Report 1078

• SF-425 Federal Financial Report 1079

The FEMA regional office is responsible for reviewing grant applications for eligibility, 1080

submitting quarterly and final fiscal reports, approving and obligating funds, and monitoring 1081

and oversight of the Recipients and Subrecipients overall grant activities. 1082

Grant Application and Approval Timeframe 1083

The state or tribal government must submit its initial grant application, the Request for 1084

Federal Assistance (SF-424), no later than nine months after the date of the fire declaration. 1085

At the request of the applicant , the RA may extend the time limitations in this section for up 1086

to 6 months when the applicant justifies and makes a request in writing. 1087

The RA has 45 days from the receipt of the applicant’s initial grant application or an 1088

amendment to the applicant’s grant application to approve or deny the application package 1089

or amendment or to notify the applicant of a delay. Before the RA can approve the grant 1090

application, the applicant must demonstrate that it: 1091

10 A Link to FMAG Forms is found in Appendix H: References and Resources


36

• Met the fire cost threshold; 1092

• Has an approved Administrative Plan; and 1093

• Has an approved Mitigation Plan. 1094

State or Tribal Mitigation Plan Requirement 1095

Section 322 of the Stafford Act and implementing regulations (44 CFR parts 201 and 204) 1096

require governments to take a proactive approach to mitigation planning. Before FEMA can 1097

approve a state or tribal FMAG Program application, the Recipient must have a FEMA-1098

approved State or Tribal Mitigation Plan that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation 1099

measures. The intent of requiring hazard mitigation planning to receive FMAG Program 1100

grants is to identify the wildfire hazards and cost-effective mitigation alternatives that 1101

produce long-term benefits. 1102

Post-disaster grant assistance will not be authorized under any new declaration during the 1103

time that the state or tribal government does not have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan. 1104

FEMA will not obligate funds unless a state or tribal government, acting as a Recipient, has a 1105

FEMA-approved mitigation plan. This is not a permanent stop to or loss of funding, but rather 1106

a temporary hold on obligations/awards until the mitigation plan is approved by FEMA in 1107

accordance with 44 CFR parts 201 and 204. 1108

Period of Performance 1109

The period of performance (POP) for all FMAG grants will begin on the first day of the 1110

incident period and will initially extend three years from the date of declaration, with the 1111

ability for FEMA to extend, as appropriate. 1112

Therefore, the start and end dates listed in block 17 of the SF-424 should be dated for a 1113

three-year period. The FMAG POP includes the IP and the time interval for the Recipient and 1114

all Subrecipients to submit eligible cost and have those costs processed, obligated, and 1115

closed out by FEMA. 1116

Request for Information 1117

FEMA regions may send a Request for Information (RFI) to a Recipient to obtain additional 1118

supporting or clarifying information to substantiate payment claims. The Recipient must 1119

respond to the RFI within 30 days of receipt. If the period to respond to the RFI expires, the 1120

region will issue payment based on information previously submitted by the Recipient. 1121

A Recipient may request in writing an additional 30 days to respond to the RFI. The 1122

Recipient’s request for additional time should be addressed to the PA Branch Chief and 1123

requires the PA Branch Chief approval. In addition, the request must include a justification 1124

and be submitted prior to the expiration of the first 30 days. 1125

1126


37

Fire Cost Threshold 1127

When submitting a grant application, the state must demonstrate that it has met either the 1128

individual or cumulative fire cost threshold. To demonstrate that the individual or cumulative 1129

fire cost threshold has been met, the state or FEMA staff must document the total eligible 1130

costs for a declared fire on PWs. The documented eligible costs and the Request for Federal 1131

Assistance are submitted as part of the grant application. 1132

It is important to note that the cost for the pre-positioning of wildland firefighting resources 1133

is not considered when determining whether a grant application meets the fire cost 1134

threshold. The costs for all eligible fires within a declared fire complex are aggregated and 1135

treated as an individual fire for purposes of meeting or exceeding the fire thresholds. 1136

Amendments to the initial grant application may be submitted thereafter, increasing the 1137

overall value of the grant. 1138

Individual Fire Cost Threshold: The individual fire cost threshold is based on total eligible 1139

costs for the declared fire. The individual fire cost threshold for a state is the greater of the 1140

following: 1141

• $100,000; or 1142

• 5% x the statewide per capita indicator x the state population (the statewide per 1143

capita indicator is adjusted annually for inflation (e.g., the FY20 indicator is $1.53). 1144

Cumulative Fire Cost Threshold: The cumulative fire cost threshold is based on total eligible 1145

costs incurred during the calendar year for all declared fires and total costs incurred on non-1146

declared wildland fires (federal costs not billed/payable by the state cannot be included in 1147

this calculation). The cumulative fire cost threshold for a state is the greater of the following: 1148

• $500,000; or 1149

• 3 x 5% the statewide per capita indicator x the state population (the statewide per 1150

capita indicator is adjusted annually for inflation (e.g., the FY20 indicator is $1.53). 1151

NOTE: The fire cost thresholds for each state are adjusted annually for inflation using the 1152

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the U.S. Department of Labor. 1153

As tribal governments may only receive FMAG funding under a state FMAG declaration, once 1154

an FMAG declaration is approved and the State’s fire cost threshold is met, a tribal 1155

government may apply as a Recipient or Subrecipient. 1156

Administrative Plan 1157

In accordance with 44 CFR § 204.51(d)(1), the Recipient must develop an Administrative 1158

Plan or have a current FEMA-approved Administrative Plan on file with the FEMA regional 1159


38

office that describes the procedures for administering the FMAG Program. The plan may be 1160

a stand-alone document or an addendum to the PA Program Administrative Plan. 1161

At a minimum, the Administrative Plan must include: 1162

• The designation of the agency (e.g., Recipient) that will have responsibility for 1163

program administration; 1164

• The identification of staffing functions, sources of staff to fill these functions, and 1165

management and oversight responsibilities of each; and 1166

• Procedures for: 1167

o Notifying potential applicants of the availability of the program; 1168

o Assisting FEMA in determining applicant eligibility; 1169

o Submitting and reviewing subgrant applications; 1170

o Processing payment requests for subrecipients; 1171

o Submitting, reviewing, and accepting performance and financial reports; 1172

o Monitoring, closing-out, auditing, and reconciling of subgrants; 1173

o Recovering funds for disallowed costs; 1174

o Processing appeal requests and requests for time extensions; and, 1175

o Providing technical assistance and materials on the application procedures, 1176

program eligibility guidance, and program deadlines. 1177

The Recipient should review its FMAG Program Administrative Plan annually and make 1178

necessary amendments to reflect changes in programmatic guidance or signatory parties. 1179

The Recipient may request the RA provide technical assistance in preparing the 1180

Administrative Plan. 1181

Recipient Responsibilities 1182

The Recipient is responsible for administering an FMAG Program grant. Recipient 1183

responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following: 1184

• Submitting the grant application package to the RA for review and approval; 1185

• Managing the administration and operation of FMAG Program in coordination with 1186

FEMA; 1187

• Disbursing funding to subrecipients; 1188

• Monitoring subgrant awards; 1189

• Submitting required fiscal reports; 1190

• Conducting closeouts; and, 1191

• Obtaining audits. 1192

The Recipient is the primary contact for transactions with and on behalf of applicants 1193

applying for a fire management assistance subgrant. The Recipient is responsible for 1194

submitting all fire management assistance Subrecipient requests and PWs to FEMA for 1195


39

review and approval as part of the grant application package. The Recipient certifies 1196

applicant eligibility and that costs for work performed in the wildland firefighting activities 1197

comply with FEMA laws, regulations, policy, and guidance applicable to FMAG Program, as 1198

well as the terms and conditions outlined for the administration of the grant in the FMAG 1199

Program FSA. During the closeout process or an audit, should funds be disallowed, the 1200

Recipient is responsible for recovery and return of funds to FEMA. 1201

Subawards 1202

Eligible Subaward Entities 1203

State and Indian Tribal Governmental agencies not designated as the Recipient, as well as 1204

local governmental entities, may be eligible for FMAG Program subawards. In cases where a 1205

tribal government is serving in a dual role as a Recipient and Subrecipient under the state’s 1206

declaration, all tribal government entities applying for subawards must submit their 1207

applications through the tribal government Recipient. Privately-owned entities, private 1208

nonprofits, and volunteer entities are not eligible for a subgrant, but may be reimbursed 1209

through mutual aid agreements with an eligible Subrecipient. 1210

Request for Fire Management Assistance 1211

Subgrant (RFMAS) (FF 089-0-24) 1212

State, Indian tribal, and local governments interested 1213

in applying for FMAG Program subawards must 1214

submit a Request for Fire Management Assistance 1215

Subgrant (RFMAS) to the Recipient in accordance 1216

with state procedures and within the timeframe 1217

established by the Recipient, but no later than 30 1218

days after the close of the IP. 1219

The RFMAS is an applicant’s official notification to both the Recipient and FEMA of its intent 1220

to apply for a subgrant. The form includes information identifying the applicant, including the 1221

applicant’s name, address, and primary and secondary contacts. The Recipient reviews the 1222

RFMAS and forwards it to the FEMA regional office. The RA then determines applicant 1223

eligibility and informs the Recipient of their determination. The Recipient then notifies the 1224

applicant. If approved, the subgrant application process may begin. 1225

Project Worksheets 1226

After approving a Recipient or Subrecipient’s request, FEMA regional staff may begin to work 1227

with the Recipient and local staff to prepare PWs. The RA may request the Principal Advisor 1228

to assist with PW preparation. If a Recipient or FEMA prepares a PW for a Subrecipient, the 1229

Subrecipient must review and concur with the PW. 1230

Large Projects

All FMAG Projects are processed

as large projects. Because FMAG

project worksheets are prepared

after final costs are known there

are no estimated payments and

no final inspections.


40

Subrecipients must submit all PWs to the Recipient for review. The Recipient then submits 1231

them to the RA as part of its grant application. PWs must be greater than $1,000 to be 1232

eligible under the FMAG Program. This minimum threshold does not apply to PWs submitted 1233

for the direct and indirect costs of administration of a fire grant, as defined in 44 CFR § 1234

204.63. PWs must be submitted within the timeframe established by the Recipient, but no 1235

later than six months from the close of the IP. At the request of the Recipient, the RA may 1236

grant up to a six-month extension. 1237

Procurement and Contracting Requirements 1238

FEMA provides FMAG funding for contract costs based on the terms of the contract if the 1239

Applicant meets federal procurement and contracting requirements. This section provides 1240

information on federal procurement and contracting requirements. FEMA’s Procurement 1241

Guidance for Recipients and Subrecipients under 2 C.F.R. part 200 (Uniform Rules) 1242

provides additional details regarding federal procurement and contracting requirements. 1243

General Federal Procurement Requirements 1244

Federal procurement requirements for Tribal and local governments are found at 1245

2 CFR § 200.318 through 200.326. The requirements include, but are not limited to: 1246

• Providing full and open competition11 (Tribal Government Applicants may provide 1247

preference to Indian organizations or Indian-owned economic enterprises12 if the 1248

Applicant substantiates that it met the Indian Self-Determination and Education Act 1249

requirements). 1250

• Conducting the following steps to ensure the use of small and minority businesses, 1251

women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms when possible:13 1252

o Place such organizations that are qualified on solicitation lists; 1253

o Ensure such organizations are solicited whenever they are potential sources; 1254

o Divide total requirements, when economically feasible, into smaller tasks or 1255

quantities; 1256

o Establish delivery schedules, where the requirement permits, which 1257

encourage their participation; 1258

o Use the services and assistance, as appropriate, of the Small Business 1259

Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency of the 1260

Department of Commerce; and 1261

11 2 C.F.R. § 200.319(a). 12 Per the Indian Financing Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-262, § 2(e), 88 Stat 77 (codified as amended at 25

U.S.C. § 1452(f)), an Indian organization is the governing body of any federally recognized Tribe or an entity

established or recognized by the governing body. An Indian-owned economic enterprise is any commercial,

industrial, or business activity established or organized by a member of a Federal recognized Tribe for the

purpose of profit, provided that such Indian ownership constitutes 51 percent or more of the enterprise. 13 2 C.F.R. § 200.321.


41

o Require prime contractor to conduct the above steps if subcontracting. 1262

Note that for Tribal Government Applicants, using the Indian Self-Determination and 1263

Education Assistance Act preference is considered to meet this requirement such 1264

that they do not need to separately follow the six socioeconomic steps outlined 1265

above. 1266

• Performing a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement action 1267

above the simplified acquisition threshold,14 including contract modifications. The 1268

Applicant must make independent estimates before receiving bids or proposals.15 1269

Additionally, the Applicant must negotiate profit as a separate element of the price 1270

when it performs a cost analysis and for each contract in which there is no price 1271

competition.16 1272

• Evaluating and documenting the contractor’s integrity, compliance with public policy, 1273

record of past performance, and financial and technical resources.17 1274

• Ensuring that the contractor was not suspended or debarred.18 1275

• Prohibiting the use of statutorily or administratively imposed state, local, or tribal 1276

geographic preferences in evaluating bids or proposals except where expressly 1277

encouraged by applicable Federal law.19 1278

• Excluding contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements 1279

of work, or invitations for bids or requests for proposals from competing for such 1280

procurements to ensure objective contractor performance and eliminate unfair 1281

competitive advantage.20 1282

• Maintaining records to detail the history of the procurement including, but are not 1283

limited to: 1284

o Rationale for the method of procurement 1285

o Selection of contract type 1286

o Contractor selection or rejection 1287

o The basis for the contract price21 1288

Procurement Standards 1289

Applicants must comply with federal procurement under grants standards as a condition of 1290

receiving FMAG funding for contract costs for eligible work. Federal procurement under 1291

14 The simplified acquisition threshold is set by the Federal Acquisition Regulation at 48 C.F.R. § 2.101. The

threshold is adjusted periodically for inflation. 15 2 C.F.R. § 200.323(a). 16 2 C.F.R. § 200.323(b). 17 2 C.F.R. § 200.318(h). 18 2 C.F.R. § 200.213. This information can be found at http://www.sam.gov/SAM/. 19 2 C.F.R. § 200.319(b). 20 2 C.F.R. § 200.319(a). 21 2 C.F.R. § 200.318(i).


http://www.sam.gov/SAM/

42

grants standards for state and territorial governments are different than those for tribal and 1292

local governments. 1293

State and territorial government Applicants must: 1294

• Follow the same policies and procedures they would use for procurements with non-1295

federal funds; 1296

• Comply with 2 CFR § 200.322, Procurement of recovered materials; and 1297

• Ensure that every purchase order or other contract includes any clauses required by 1298

2 CFR § 200.326, Contract provisions.22 1299

Non-state Applicants (tribal and local governments) must use their own documented 1300

procurement procedures that reflect applicable state, territorial, tribal, and local government 1301

laws and regulations, provided that the procurements conform to applicable federal law and 1302

standards identified in 2 CFR § 200.317-326. This requirement applies to tribal 1303

governments even when the tribe is a Recipient. 1304

Tribal and local governments must conduct procurement transactions in a manner that 1305

complies with the following federal standards:23 1306

• Provide full and open competition;24 1307

• Conduct all necessary affirmative steps to ensure the use of small and minority 1308

businesses, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms when 1309

possible;25 1310

• Exclude contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of 1311

work, or invitations for bids or requests for proposals from competing for such 1312

procurements to ensure objective contractor performance and eliminate unfair 1313

competitive advantage;26 1314

• Maintain written standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and governing 1315

the performance of employees who engage in the selection, award, and 1316

administration of contracts; and27 1317

• Maintain records sufficient to detail the history of the procurement. These records 1318

will include, but are not limited to: 1319

o Rationale for the method of procurement; 1320

o Selection of contract type; 1321

o Contractor selection or rejection; and 1322

22 2 CFR § 200.317. 23 2 CFR § 200.317-326. 24 2 CFR § 200.319(a). 25 2 CFR § 200.321. 26 2 CFR § 200.319(a). 27 2 CFR § 200.318(c)(1).


43

o The basis for the contract price.28 1323

Tribal and local governments must use one of the following procurement methods:29 1324

• Micro-purchase; 1325

• Small purchase procedure; 1326

• Sealed bid (formal advertising); or 1327

• Competitive proposal (formal advertising). 1328

FEMA may reimburse costs incurred under a contract procured through a noncompetitive 1329

proposal only when one or more of the following apply: 1330

• The item is only available from a single source; 1331

• The public exigency or emergency for the 1332

requirement will not permit a delay resulting from 1333

competitive solicitation; 1334

• FEMA or the Recipient expressly authorizes a 1335

noncompetitive proposal in response to a written 1336

request from the tribal or local government; or 1337

• After solicitation of a number of sources, 1338

competition is determined inadequate.30 1339

Tribal or local governments must perform a cost or price 1340

analysis in connection with every procurement action in 1341

excess of the simplified acquisition threshold,31 including 1342

contract modifications.32 The method and degree of 1343

analysis depends on the facts surrounding the particular 1344

procurement situation. As a starting point, the tribal or 1345

local government must make independent estimates 1346

before receiving bids or proposals.33 Additionally, the tribal 1347

or local government must negotiate profit as a separate 1348

element of the price for each contract in which there is no 1349

price competition and, in all cases, where a cost analysis is 1350

performed.34 1351

28 2 CFR § 200.318(i). 29 2 CFR § 200.320. 30 2 CFR § 200.320(f). 31 The simplified acquisition threshold is set by the Federal Acquisition Regulation at 48 CFR § 2.101. The

threshold is adjusted periodically for inflation. 32 2 CFR § 200.323(a). 33 2 CFR § 200.323(a). 34 2 CFR § 200.323(b).

Procurement Terminology

Micro-purchase: purchase of supplies

or services, the aggregate dollar

amount of which does not exceed the

micro-purchase threshold ($10,000).

Small purchase procedure: relatively

simple and informal procurement

method for securing services, supplies,

or other property that do not cost more

than the simplified acquisition

threshold set by the Federal Acquisition

Regulation at 48 CFR Subpart 2.1.

($250,000).

Sealed bid: publicly solicited bid

awarded via a firm fixed price contract

to the lowest responsive, responsible

bidder.

Competitive proposal: normally

conducted with more than one source

submitting an offer and generally used

when conditions are not appropriate

for the use of sealed bids.

Noncompetitive proposal: solicitation


44

FEMA FMAG staff should coordinate with FEMA’s Office of Chief Counsel when evaluating 1352

whether the Applicant complied with federal procurement under grants requirements. Non-1353

compliance may result in remedies under 2 CFR § 200.338. 1354

Contracts 1355

FEMA reimburses costs incurred using three types of contract payment obligations: fixed-1356

price, cost-reimbursement, and, to a limited extent, time and materials (T&M)35. The specific 1357

contract types related to each of these are described under 2 CFR part 200. The specific 1358

contract types related to each of these are described in 2 CFR part 200. 1359

The Applicant must include required provisions in all contracts awarded36 and maintain 1360

oversight37 to ensure contractors perform according to the conditions and specifications of 1361

the contract and any purchase orders.38 1362

Tribal and local governments are prohibited from incurring costs under a cost plus a 1363

percentage of cost contract or a contract with a percentage of construction cost method. 1364

Although these types of contracts may be allowed under state or territorial government 1365

standards, the use of these contracts have a high risk of noncompliance with the 1366

requirement that all costs be reasonable.39 1367

The Davis Bacon Act, which requires “prevailing wage” payment to contracted workers 1368

based on the local union wage scale defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, does not 1369

apply to state, territorial, tribal, and local government contracts for FMAG-funded projects. 1370

However, if the Applicant incorporates prevailing wage rates as part of its normal practice for 1371

all contracts regardless of the funding source, then those rates are eligible. 1372

Cost Share 1373

Under 44 CFR § 204.61 the federal cost share for a FMAG Program Grant is 75 percent. The 1374

25 percent non-federal cost share can be provided in its entirety by the Recipient, 1375

Subrecipient, or a combination of the two. Under the FMAG Program regulations, FEMA may 1376

not adjust the cost share. All terms and conditions are outlined in the FSA/FTA and apply to 1377

all declared fires within each calendar year. 1378

Duplication of Benefits 1379

Pursuant to Section 312 of the Stafford Act, and 44 CFR § 204.62(a), FEMA may not 1380

duplicate benefits received by or available to the applicant from insurance, other assistance 1381

programs, legal awards, or any other source to address the same purpose. A Subrecipient 1382

35 The FMAG Program does not use T&M contracts. 36 2 CFR § 200.326. 37 2 CFR § 200.328. 38 2 CFR § 200.318(b). 39 2 CFR § 200.323(d).


45

must notify the Recipient of all benefits that it receives or anticipates receiving from other 1383

sources for the same purpose and must seek all such benefits available to them. FEMA will 1384

reduce the grant by the amount available for the same purpose from other sources. 1385

Assistance may be provided under the FMAG Program when other benefits do not fully cover 1386

the eligible work. However, the applicant must repay FEMA for any duplicated amounts that 1387

it receives or has available to it from other sources. 1388

If an FMAG declaration runs concurrently with a major disaster declaration for a wildland 1389

fire, it is incumbent on the Recipient to ensure that costs claimed under one declaration are 1390

not also claimed under the other. 1391

FEMA does not provide assistance for activities for which another federal agency has more 1392

specific or primary authority to provide assistance. FEMA may disallow or recoup amounts 1393

that fall within another federal agency’s statutory authority. FEMA may provide assistance in 1394

such situations, but the applicant must agree to seek assistance from the appropriate 1395

federal agency and to repay FEMA for amounts that are within another agency’s authority. It 1396

is the applicant’s responsibility to notify the Recipient of any duplicate costs recovered from 1397

another federal agency. 1398

2 CFR § 200.306, and 2 CFR § 200.434, allows, but does not require, applicants to use the 1399

credit of third-party donations, such as cash and grants, designated solely for eligible work, 1400

to reduce the non-federal share of project costs. Designated third party funding that is not 1401

used towards reducing the non-federal share will be considered a duplication of benefits 1402

and will be used to reduce total project cost. 1403

Grants and cash donations designated for specific eligible work: 1404

• Grants and cash donations from non-federal sources designated for the same 1405

purpose as federal disaster funds generally are considered a duplication of benefits. 1406

However, these funds may be applied towards the non-federal cost share. All costs to 1407

be applied to the non-federal cost-share must be for eligible work under the program. 1408

Grants and cash donations not designated for specific eligible work: 1409

• Unless otherwise prohibited, grants and cash donations received for unspecified 1410

purposes (e.g., “recovery from fire/relief efforts”), or for work not eligible for FEMA 1411

assistance, do not constitute a duplication of benefits. 1412

The retention of duplicated funds is illegal. Duplicated funding received from FEMA must be 1413

returned to FEMA in accordance with Section 312(a) of the Stafford Act. 1414

1415


46

1416

Negligence and Intentional Acts 1417

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 204.62(c), FEMA will not provide assistance to an applicant for costs 1418

attributable to its own negligence. If negligence by another party results in damages, 1419

assistance may be provided, on the condition that the applicant agrees to cooperate in all 1420

efforts necessary to recover the cost of such assistance from the negligent party. Any 1421

individual who intentionally causes a declared fire shall be liable to the United States to the 1422

extent of costs incurred. An individual will not be liable as a result of actions taken or 1423

omitted in the course of rendering care or assistance in response to the fire. 1424

If the applicant suspects negligence or intentional acts by a third party resulting in 1425

contributing to or igniting a declared fire, the applicant is responsible for taking all 1426

reasonable steps to recover costs from the third party. Any recovered costs are considered 1427

duplicated benefits and need to be remitted to FEMA. 1428

To ensure that applicants take reasonable steps toward cost recovery and possible 1429

prosecution of responsible entities, FEMA will require applicants to document their liability 1430

findings and proposed plan of action. The Recipient must work with the State’s/Tribe’s 1431

Attorney General to pursue legal avenues to recover costs from any negligent third party 1432

responsible for a declared fire. The state’s decision to prosecute for damages from a liable 1433

third party must be documented and signed by the State’s/Tribe’s Attorney General and 1434

provided by the Recipient to the regional office as part of the State’s/Tribe’s initial grant 1435

application or as a subsequent amendment. 1436

The Applicant must demonstrate reasonable efforts to recover costs from a negligent third 1437

party. If FEMA determines an applicant has not made reasonable efforts to recover costs 1438

from a negligent third party responsible for igniting a declared fire, FEMA may withhold or 1439

recoup funding from the grant. FEMA recognizes that it may not be feasible or cost effective 1440

for applicants to pursue cost recovery from all third parties responsible for igniting a 1441

declared fire. 1442

FEMA may pursue measures against a third party whose intentional acts contributed to the 1443

costs incurred by the declared fire even if an applicant chooses not to prosecute. 1444

When the declared fire was determined to have been caused by an intentional act, the 1445

Recipient and/or Subrecipient must agree to cooperate with the Federal government in any 1446

action it may take to recover costs. Specifically, 44 CFR § 204.62(d) requires “an agreement 1447

by the applicant to cooperate with [FEMA] in [its] efforts to recover the cost of the assistance 1448

from the liable party.” Again, when the State/Tribe signs the FSA/FTA, under Article 9 it 1449

agrees “...on its behalf and on behalf of its political subdivisions and other recipients of 1450

Federal disaster assistance, to cooperate with the Federal Government in seeking recovery 1451


47

of funds...against any party or parties whose intentional acts or omissions may have caused 1452

or contributed to the damage or hardship for which federal assistance is provided... .” 1453

FEMA will review any costs recovered by the Recipient and/or Subrecipient for a fire caused 1454

by an act of negligence to determine if there is a duplication of benefits. Duplicated costs 1455

must be repaid based on the federal cost share. Consideration will be given to the terms and 1456

conditions of the award or settlement, and any additional legal costs incurred. 1457

Specific Actions 1458

For any suspected negligence or intentional acts, the applicant must take reasonable steps 1459

to recover all costs attributable to the negligence or intentional act. Such steps should 1460

include contact with local or state police and, if appropriate, the local prosecutor’s office to 1461

determine if it will conduct an investigation and whether criminal charges will be filed. 1462

States/Tribes should consider pursuing both criminal and civil avenues to recover damages 1463

and seek money judgments against responsible parties. Any funds recovered will be used to 1464

offset FEMA grant funds. 1465

Negligence and Intentional Acts and Pending Litigation 1466

Each year, numerous fires are either caused by negligence or started intentionally. These 1467

often result in a prolonged period of litigation which may delay grant closure. Resolution of 1468

the litigation may result in restitution of funds which would offset a portion of the total 1469

eligible cost of the fire and reduce the FEMA reimbursement and Recipient portions of 1470

eligible fire costs. While pending litigation may be prolonged, it should not interfere with or 1471

be an obstacle to closeout of a grant after all eligible fire costs have been submitted, 1472

processed, approved, paid, and all other grant requirements have been met. If funds are 1473

recovered as a result of the litigation after the grant has been closed, these grants will not 1474

require reopening to process adjustments for recovered funds or require an additional grant 1475

closeout after the adjustments are processed in the program system. The original date of 1476

grant closeout does not change. 1477

Administrative Costs 1478

Recipient 1479

Under 44 CFR § 204.63, the Recipient may claim both direct and indirect administrative 1480

costs for costs associated with requesting, obtaining, and administering a grant for a 1481

declared fire. Direct costs include regular and overtime pay and travel expenses for 1482

permanent, reassigned, temporary, and contract employees who assist in administering the 1483

grant. 1484

Funding for other direct costs incurred by the Recipient administering a grant, such as 1485

equipment and supply purchases, may be eligible, but must be approved by the RA. 1486


48

Indirect costs incurred by the Recipient during the administration of a grant are allowed in 1487

accordance with the appropriate provisions of 2 CFR part 200 including 2 CFR § 200.414 1488

and Appendix VII. Except for Recipients who have never received a negotiated indirect cost 1489

rate as described in 2 CFR § 200.414(f), Recipients generally must have an approved 1490

indirect cost rate agreement with their cognizant federal agency to charge indirect costs. The 1491

Recipient generally must submit a copy of its approved rate (that is, the fully executed 1492

agreement negotiated with the Recipient’s cognizant federal agency) along with the PW for 1493

indirect costs. If there is no current indirect cost rate agreement and the Recipient will be 1494

charging indirect costs, then the Recipient should contact the Regional POC for further 1495

instructions. 1496

The Recipient must submit a copy of the indirect cost proposal along with the PW for indirect 1497

costs. The indirect cost rate is subject to review for reasonableness and eligibility.40 1498

Costs included in the computation of the indirect cost rate are not allowable as direct 1499

administrative costs. 1500

Subrecipient 1501

The Subrecipient may claim costs associated with requesting, obtaining, and administering a 1502

subgrant for a declared fire. Direct costs include regular and overtime pay and travel 1503

expenses for permanent, reassigned, temporary, and contract employees who assist in 1504

administering the fire management assistance subgrant. 1505

Funding for other direct costs incurred by the Subrecipient administering a subgrant, such 1506

as equipment and supply purchases, may be eligible, but must be reviewed by the Recipient 1507

and RA. 1508

Subrecipients may not claim indirect administrative costs. 1509

Appeals of Grant Eligibility 1510

A Recipient or Subrecipient may appeal any grant-related determination made by FEMA, 1511

including determinations on applicant eligibility, work eligibility, and cost eligibility (See 44 1512

CFR § 204.54). 1513

There are two levels of appeals. The first is to the RA. The second appeal is to the Director, 1514

PA Division in FEMA HQ, and it is the final administrative decision of FEMA. 1515

40 FEMA has an interagency agreement with HHS to perform indirect cost rate reviews, conduct negotiations,

and sign agreements on FEMA’s behalf. Inquiries regarding negotiated indirect cost rates, or what the latest

negotiated rates on file are for a specific entity can be requested through [email protected].

Questions about a rate agreement for a specific Recipient should be directed to FEMA-Finance-Audit-

[email protected].


mailto:[email protected]



49

Applicants must submit all appeals within 60 days of FEMA’s determination to the grant 1516

Recipient. The Recipient will review the appeal and forward it with a written 1517

recommendation to the RA. 1518

Appeals should contain documented justification supporting the appellant’s position, 1519

specifying the determination in dispute and the provisions in federal law, regulation, or 1520

policy with which the appellant believes the initial determination was inconsistent. 1521

Within 90 days following receipt of an appeal, the RA (for first appeals) or Director, PA 1522

Division HQ Office (for second appeals) will notify the Recipient in writing of the disposition 1523

of the appeal or of the need for additional information. 1524

A request for additional information will include a date when the information must be 1525

provided. Within 90 days following the receipt of the requested additional information or 1526

following expiration of the period for providing the information, the RA or Director, PA 1527

Division in FEMA HQ will notify the Recipient in writing of the disposition of the appeal. If the 1528

decision is to grant the appeal, the RA takes appropriate implementing action. 1529

When an appeal involves technical issues, the FEMA RA or Director, PA Division in FEMA HQ 1530

may submit the appeal to an independent scientific or technical person or group for advice 1531

or recommendation. The period for this technical review may be in addition to other allotted 1532

time periods. Within 90 days of receipt of a technical report, the FEMA RA or Director, PA 1533

Division in FEMA HQ will notify the Recipient in writing of the disposition of the appeal. 1534

Grant Closeouts 1535

Regulations governing grant closeouts are found in 2 CFR § 200.343. The purpose of 1536

closeout is to certify that all eligible costs have been disbursed. It is the Recipient’s 1537

responsibility to document all costs associated with the eligible wildland firefighting 1538

activities. The Recipient is responsible for making sure that all documentation on PWs is 1539

accurate, complete, and up to date for closeout. Failure to properly document any project 1540

may result in loss of funding for that project. 1541

The Recipient must submit all required documentation within 90 days after the performance 1542

period expiration date. The performance period is the time interval designated in the SF-424 1543

Application for Federal Assistance for the Recipient and all Subrecipients to submit eligible 1544

costs and have those costs processed, obligated, and closed out by FEMA. The Recipient will 1545

submit a final Federal Financial Report, which reports all costs incurred within the IP and all 1546

administrative costs incurred within the performance period. 1547

A grant is ready to be closed when all funds have been distributed and all documentation is 1548

complete. Either FEMA or the Recipient can begin the closeout process. The FEMA regional 1549

office may begin the closeout process with a letter of inquiry, followed by a letter of intent to 1550


50

proceed with the closeout when no other justification can be provided to keep the grant 1551

open. 1552

Audit Requirements and Documentation 1553

Audits 1554

All grant and subgrant recipients must comply with 2 CFR part 200, subpart F. Note 1555

specifically that 2 CFR § 200.501 requires “a non-Federal entity that expends $750,000 or 1556

more during the non-federal entity’s fiscal year in Federal awards must have a single or 1557

program-specific audit conducted for that year in accordance with the provisions of this 1558

part.” 1559

Recipients and subrecipients must be familiar with and comply with all applicable audit 1560

regulations in 2 CFR part 200. Specific information pertaining to the audit requirements of 1561

each State is outlined in their respective State Administration Plans. States must abide by 1562

both federal and state audit requirements. 1563

Grant recipients may also be subject to additional audits by the Department of Homeland 1564

Security Office of Inspector General and state auditors for items not covered under 2 CFR 1565

part 200. 1566

Documentation41 1567

2 CFR part 200 lists several citations regarding documentation. While recipients and 1568

subrecipients should be familiar with all provisions of 2 CFR part 200, the two citations 1569

below provide an overview of major documentation requirements. 1570

§ 200.302 Financial Management. 1571

Each state must expend and account for the federal award in accordance with state laws 1572

and procedures for expending and accounting for the state’s own funds. In addition, the 1573

state’s and the other non-federal entity’s financial management systems, including records 1574

documenting compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of 1575

the federal award, must be sufficient to permit the preparation of reports required by 1576

general and program- specific terms and conditions; and the tracing of funds to a level of 1577

expenditures adequate to establish that such funds have been used according to the federal 1578

statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. See also § 1579

200.450 Lobbying. 1580

§ 200.318(i) General Procurement Standards 1581

41 See Appendix D for additional guidance on documentation to support costs.


51

(i) The Non-Federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of procurement. 1582

These records will include, but are not necessarily limited to the following: rationale for the method of 1583

procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the 1584

contract price 1585

§ 200.333 Retention Requirements for Records. 1586

Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other non-federal entity 1587

records pertinent to a federal award must be retained for a period of at least three years 1588

from the date of submission of the final expenditure report or, for federal awards that are 1589

renewed quarterly or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly or annual 1590

financial report, respectively, as reported to the federal awarding agency or pass-through 1591

entity in the case of a Subrecipient. 1592

In some instances, including, but not limited to any litigation, claim, or audit, and state laws 1593

and procedures may require paperwork to be retained for longer than the three years 1594

required by 2 CFR part 200. It is important for grant recipients to check the specific audit 1595

requirements and statutes governing their state. 1596

The Office of Inspector General may independently, or at FEMA’s request, initiate an audit of 1597

a Recipient or Subrecipient for a particular fire or fire complex. 1598

The importance of maintaining a complete and accurate set of records for each project 1599

cannot be overemphasized. Accurate and complete documentation will facilitate the 1600

validation, approval, and funding processes for projects. 1601

All of the documentation pertaining to a project should be filed together with the 1602

corresponding PW and maintained as part of the permanent record of the project. These 1603

records become the basis for verifying project costs. 1604

Documentation is the process of establishing and maintaining accurate records of events 1605

and expenditures related to suppression and recovery work. The information required for 1606

documentation basically describes the “who, what, when, where, why, and how much” for 1607

each item of disaster recovery work. 1608

It is important that events and expenses incurred in an FMAG declaration are accurately 1609

documented. While there are many ways to maintain records, a system must be in place to 1610

ensure all necessary information is readily available and in a usable format. 1611

Accurate documentation helps to: 1612

• Recover eligible costs; 1613

• Have the information necessary to develop PWs; 1614

• Have the information available, which the region and/or state may need to see, to 1615

validate the accuracy and eligibility of costs; and 1616


52

• Be ready for any state or federal audits, or other federal program reviews. 1617

1618



APPENDIX A: LIST OF ACRONYMS 1619

AA Assistant Administrator 1620

CFFDRS Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System 1621

CFR Code of Federal Regulations 1622

DUNS Data Universal Numbering System (Dun and Bradstreet Number) 1623

DRRA Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 1624

EMAC Emergency Management Assistance Compact 1625

FAO Fire Action Officer 1626

FDO Fire Duty Officer 1627

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency 1628

FF FEMA Form 1629

FMAG Fire Management Assistance Grant (Program) 1630

FSA FEMA-State Agreement 1631

FTA FEMA-Tribal Agreement 1632

GAR Governor’s Authorized Representative 1633

HQ Headquarters 1634

HHS U.S Department of Health and Human Services 1635

ICS Incident Command System 1636

IP Incident Period 1637

NFDRS National Fire Danger Rating System 1638

OMB Office of Management and Budget 1639

ORR Office of Response and Recovery 1640

PA Public Assistance 1641

POP Period of Performance 1642

PW Project Worksheet 1643

RA Regional Administrator 1644

RFI Request for Information 1645

RFMAS Request for Fire Management Assistance Subgrant 1646



SOW Scope of Work 1647

SF Standard Form 1648

T&E Time and Equipment 1649

TAR Tribal Chief Executive’s Authorized Representative 1650

TCE Tribal Chief Executive 1651

1652

1653

1654

1655

1656

1657

1658

1659

1660


APPENDIX B: GLOSSARY 1662

Affected County: One or more county(ies) or tribal area(s) where a declared fire or fire 1663

complex originated or burned into. 1664

Applicant: A state or Indian Tribal Government (tribal government) submitting an application 1665

for a fire management assistance grant, or a state, local, or Indian Tribal Government 1666

submitting an application to the Recipient for a subgrant under an approved fire 1667

management assistance grant. 1668

Application for Federal Assistance: The form the state submits to apply for a grant under a 1669

fire management assistance declaration. 1670

Backfill employee: Replacement employee who performs the regular duties of another 1671

employee, who is performing eligible emergency work under the Fire Management 1672

Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program. 1673



B-52

Budgeted employee: A person whose position and salary are included in the applicant’s 1674

budget. 1675

Chief Executive: The person who is the Chief, Chair, Chairman, Chairwoman, Governor, 1676

President, or similar executive official of an Indian Tribal Government. 1677

Closeout: The process by which the federal awarding agency or pass-through entity 1678

determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the federal 1679

award have been completed and takes actions as described in 2 CFR § 200.343. 1680

Contained (from National Wildfire Coordinating Group): The status of a wildfire suppression 1681

action signifying that a control line has been completed around the fire, and any associated 1682

spot fires, which can reasonably be expected to stop the fire’s spread. 1683

Controlled (from National Wildfire Coordinating Group): The completion of a control line 1684

around a fire, any spot fires therefrom, and any interior islands to be saved; burn out of any 1685

unburned area adjacent to the fire side of the control lines; and cool down of all hot spots 1686

that are immediate threats to the control line, until the lines can reasonably be expected to 1687

hold under the foreseeable conditions. 1688

Crown Fire (Crowning) (from National Wildfire Coordinating Group): A fire that advances from 1689

top to top of trees or shrubs more or less independent of a surface fire. Crown fires are 1690

sometimes classed as running or dependent to distinguish the degree of independence from 1691

the surface fire. 1692

Declared Fire: An uncontrolled fire or fire complex, threatening such destruction as would 1693

constitute a major disaster, which the Administrator has approved in response to a state’s 1694

request for a fire management assistance declaration and in accordance with the criteria 1695

listed in 44 CFR § 204.21. 1696

Demobilization: The process and procedures for deactivating, disassembling, and 1697

transporting back to their point of origin all resources that had been provided to respond to 1698

and support a declared fire. 1699

Direct costs: Direct costs are those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular 1700

final cost objective, such as a federal award, or other internally or externally funded activity, 1701

or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of 1702

accuracy. (See 2 CFR part 200 Subpart E – § 200.413 Direct costs). 1703

DUNS Number: The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS Number) is a nine-digit 1704

number developed by Dun and Bradstreet that assigns a unique identifier to a business 1705

entity. 1706



B-53

Emergency Protective Measure: An action taken by a community before, during, and after a 1707

disaster to save lives, protect public health and safety, and prevent damage to improved 1708

public and private property 1709

Emergency work: Work that must be done immediately to save lives and to protect improved 1710

property and public health and safety, or to avert or lessen the threat of a major disaster. 1711

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC): A type of interstate mutual aid 1712

agreement that allows states to assist one another in responding to all kinds of natural and 1713

man-made disasters. It is administered by the National Emergency Management 1714

Association (NEMA). 1715

Equipment: Tangible personal property, including information technology systems, having a 1716

useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost that equals or exceeds the 1717

lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-federal entity for financial statement 1718

purposes, or $5,000. 1719

Federal Agency: Any department, independent establishment, government corporation, or 1720

other agency of the executive branch of the Federal government, including the United States 1721

Postal Service, but not including the American National Red Cross. 1722

Federal Share: The portion of the total eligible project costs that are paid by federal funds. 1723

Final Expenditure Report: The report the Recipient submits to FEMA for all of a 1724

Subrecipient’s projects, certifying that the grant terms and conditions have been met and 1725

project costs are reconciled. 1726

Fire Complex: Two or more individual fires located in the same general area, which are 1727

assigned to a single Incident Commander. 1728

Force Account/Force Account Labor: An Applicant’s own labor forces and equipment. 1729

Fringe Benefits: A percentage of the actual wages that pays for employee benefits. 1730

Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR): The person empowered by the Governor to 1731

execute, on behalf of the state, all necessary documents for fire management assistance, 1732

including the request for a fire management assistance declaration. 1733

Grant: An award of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements, by FEMA to an 1734

eligible Recipient. The grant award will be based on the projected amount of total eligible 1735

costs for which a state submits an application and that FEMA approves related to a declared 1736

fire. 1737

Hazard Mitigation Plan: A plan to develop actions the state, local, or Indian Tribal 1738

Government will take to reduce the risk to people and property from all hazards. The intent 1739



B-54

of hazard mitigation planning under the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program is to 1740

identify wildfire hazards and cost-effective mitigation alternatives that produce long-term 1741

benefits. FEMA addresses mitigation of fire hazards as part of the State’s Mitigation Plan, 1742

described in 44 CFR part 201. 1743

Household Pet: A domesticated animal, such as a dog, cat, bird, rabbit, rodent, or turtle that 1744

is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes, can travel 1745

in commercial carriers, and be housed in temporary facilities. Household pets do not include 1746

reptiles (except turtles), amphibians, fish, insects/arachnids, farm animals (including 1747

horses), and animals kept for racing purposes. 1748

Incident Commander: The ranking official responsible for overseeing the management of fire 1749

operations, planning, logistics, and finances of the field response. (The ranking “red card” 1750

official responsible for a declared fire. [“Red card” is the fire qualifications card issued to 1751

fire-rated persons showing their training needs and their qualifications to fill specified fire-1752

suppression and support positions on a fire or other incident]). 1753

Incident Period: The time interval during which the declared fire occurs. The Regional 1754

Administrator, in consultation with the GAR and the Principal Advisor, will establish the 1755

incident period. Generally, costs must be directly related to or incurred during the incident 1756

period to be considered eligible. 1757

Indian Tribal Government: An Indian Tribal Government is any Federally recognized 1758

governing body of an Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or 1759

community that the Secretary of Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe under the 1760

Federally Recognized Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 479a. This does not include Alaska 1761

Native corporations, the ownership of which is vested in private individuals. 1762

Indirect Costs (Administration): General administration and general expenses such as the 1763

director’s office, accounting, personnel and all other types of expenditures not listed 1764

specifically under one of the subcategories of “Facilities. (See 2 CFR part 200 Subpart E – § 1765

200.414 Indirect (F&A) costs). 1766

Individual Assistance: Supplementary federal assistance provided under the Stafford Act to 1767

individuals and families adversely affected by a major disaster or an emergency. Such 1768

assistance may be provided directly by the Federal Government or through state or local 1769

governments or disaster relief organizations. (For further information, see subparts D, E, and 1770

F of 44 CFR part 206). 1771

Local Government: Any county, municipality, city, town, township, public authority, school 1772

district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (regardless of whether the 1773

council of governments is incorporated as a non-profit corporation under State law), regional 1774

or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a local government; any 1775



B-55

Indian Tribal Government or authorized Tribal organization, or Alaska Native village or 1776

organization; and any rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity, 1777

for which an application for assistance is made by a State or political subdivision of a State. 1778

Major Disaster: Any natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, 1779

wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, 1780

snowstorm, or drought), or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of 1781

the United States, which in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient 1782

severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under this Act to supplement 1783

the efforts and available resources of states, local governments, and disaster relief 1784

organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby. 1785

(Stafford Act section 102(2), 42 U.S.C. 5122(2)) 1786

Mitigation, Management, and Control: Those activities undertaken, generally during the 1787

incident period of a declared fire, to minimize immediate adverse effects and to manage 1788

and control the fire. Eligible activities may include associated emergency work and pre-1789

positioning directly related to the declared fire. 1790

Mobilization: The process and procedures used for activating, assembling, and transporting 1791

all resources that the Recipient requested to respond to support a declared fire. 1792

Non-Federal Entity: A state, local government, or Indian tribe that carries out a federal award 1793

as a Recipient or Subrecipient. 1794

Pass-Through Entity: A non-federal entity that provides a subaward to a Subrecipient to carry 1795

out part of a federal program. 1796

Period of Performance: The time during which the non-federal entity may incur new 1797

obligations to carry out the work authorized under the federal award. The Period of 1798

Performance for all FMAG grants is three years from the start of the grant application. The 1799

federal awarding agency or pass-through entity must include start and end dates of the 1800

period of performance in the federal award. 1801

Pre-positioning: Moving existing fire prevention or suppression resources from an area of 1802

lower fire danger to one of higher fire danger in anticipation of an increase in fire activity 1803

likely to constitute the threat of a major disaster. 1804

Principal Advisor: An individual appointed by the U. S. Forest Service, U. S. Department of 1805

Agriculture, or Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Department of the Interior, who is 1806

responsible for providing FEMA with a technical assessment of the fire or fire complex for 1807

which a state is requesting a fire management assistance declaration. The Principal Advisor 1808

frequently participates with FEMA on other wildland fire initiatives. 1809



B-56

Project Worksheet (PW): The form which identifies actual costs incurred by eligible 1810

applicants as a result of the eligible firefighting activities. The PW is used to document the 1811

location, damage description and dimensions, scope of work, and cost estimates for 1812

materials, labor, and other costs of each project. It is the basis for the FMAG Program grant. 1813

Providing Entity: The entity providing mutual aid assistance to a requesting entity pursuant 1814

to a local or statewide mutual aid agreement 1815

Public Assistance: Supplementary federal assistance provided under the Stafford Act to 1816

state and local governments or certain private, nonprofit organizations for eligible 1817

emergency measures and repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities. (For 1818

further information, see 44 CFR subparts G and H of part 206. 1819

Recipient: The Recipient is the government to which a grant is awarded which is accountable 1820

for the use of the funds provided. The Recipient is the entire legal entity even if only a 1821

particular component of the entity is designated in the grant award document. Generally, the 1822

state, as designated in the FEMA-State Agreement for the Fire Management Assistance 1823

Grant Program, is the Recipient. However, after a declaration, an Indian Tribal Government 1824

may choose to be a Recipient, or it may act as a Subrecipient under the state. An Indian 1825

Tribal Government acting as Recipient will assume the responsibilities of a “state”, as 1826

described in this Part, for the purpose of administering the grant. 1827

Regional Administrator (RA): The administrator of a regional office of FEMA, or their 1828

designated representative. 1829

Requesting Entity: An entity (FMAG eligible applicant) that requests mutual aid assistance 1830

from a Providing Entity for work resulting from a declared fire, emergency or major disaster 1831

within its legal jurisdiction. The requesting entity is eligible to receive FEMA assistance for 1832

the eligible mutual aid activities from the providing entities. 1833

Rollup: When one or more FMAG declarations are administratively merged into a major or 1834

emergency disaster declaration. 1835

Service Animal: Any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide 1836

assistance to an individual with a disability including, but not limited to, guiding individuals 1837

with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, 1838

providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items. 1839

Standard Form (SF) 424: The SF 424 is the Application for federal assistance. This is the 1840

form a state submits to apply for a grant under a fire management assistance declaration. 1841

Stand-by Time: Time spent waiting to conduct activities after initial deployment or wait time 1842

between activities. 1843



B-57

State: Any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin 1844

Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 1845

Subgrant/Subaward: An award of financial assistance under a grant by a Recipient to an 1846

eligible Subrecipient. 1847

Subrecipient: An applicant that is awarded a subgrant and is accountable to the Recipient 1848

for the use of grant funding provided. 1849

Uncontrolled Fire: Any fire not safely confined to predetermined control lines as established 1850

by firefighting resources. 1851

APPENDIX C: AUTHORITIES AND FOUNDATIONAL 1852

DOCUMENTS 1853

1854

• Section 420 of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) 1855

• 44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 204 1856

• 44 CFR part 200—Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, And Audit 1857

Requirements For Federal Awards 1858

1859 DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT


D-1

APPENDIX D: DOCUMENTATION TO SUPPORT COSTS 1860

General: 1861

• Providing Incident Command resource requests/orders, OF 288s, and other 1862

documents are important overall to establish the basis for cost eligibility. 1863

For Each Individual: 1864

• Name, job title, and function 1865

• Type of employee (e.g., full-time exempt, full-time non-exempt, part-time, temporary, 1866

prisoner, etc.) 1867

• Days and hours worked 1868

• Pay rate(s) and fringe benefit rate(s) 1869

• Description of work performed with representative sample of daily logs / activity 1870

reports, if available 1871

• Representative sample of timesheets 1872

• Pay policy including fringe benefit calculations 1873

For Each Piece of Equipment: 1874

• Type of equipment and attachments used, including year, make, and model 1875

• Size/capacity (e.g., horsepower, wattage) 1876

• Locations and days and hours used with usage logs 1877

• Operator name 1878

• Schedule of rates, including rate components 1879

Rented or Purchased Equipment: 1880

• Rental or lease agreements 1881

• Invoices 1882

• Receipts 1883

• Days used 1884

Other Federal Agencies: 1885

• May include Resource Requests 1886

• Supply Resource Orders 1887

• Transaction Registers 1888

• OF 288 1889

• Incident Cost Unit reports 1890

Purchased Supplies: 1891

• Type of supplies and quantities used, with support documentation such as daily logs, 1892

inventory records, and if available historical cost records. 1893



D-2

Contracts: 1894

• Receipts or invoices 1895

Procurement policy 1896

• “Procurements 1897

• Procurement preparation documents demonstrating the rationale behind the 1898

procurement method and contract type selected 1899

• Solicitation documents, such as requests for quotes, invitations to bid, requests for 1900

proposals, requests for qualifications, requests for information, etc. 1901

• Procurement evaluation documents demonstrating the basis for contractor selection 1902

or rejection 1903

• Contract cost/price documents, including documents demonstrating the basis for the 1904

price and for procurements in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, a 1905

cost/price analysis 1906

• Contracts, change orders, and invoices 1907

Mutual Aid: 1908

• Dates worked 1909

• Written agreement 1910

• Services requested and received 1911

Donated Resources: 1912

• Same information listed for labor, equipment, and supplies above (as applicable) 1913

For each individual: 1914

• Invoices 1915

• Who donated each piece of equipment 1916

• Quantity donated 1917

Equipment: 1918

• Days and hours worked 1919

• Location of work 1920

• Work performed 1921

Supplies or materials: 1922

• Same information listed under Applicant-Owned Equipment above 1923

For Direct Administrative Costs: 1924

• Documentation supporting necessity of unique services or extraordinary level of 1925

effort 1926



D-3

• Specific description of administrative task performed by individual 1927

Other: 1928

• Skill level and position description of individual performing task 1929

• Documentation regarding cash donations or other funding received 1930

• Cost comparisons and source documentation, if applicable and available, 1931

• Actual insurance proceeds 1932

1933

1934

1935

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940

1941

1942


1944



E-1

APPENDIX E: EFFECTS ON COMMUNITY 1945

FUNCTIONS/SERVICES/ECONOMY 1946

Provide as much as possible of the following information with the declaration request. Do 1947

not delay submission of the declaration request if all information is not available. 1948

1. Has any voluntary agency assistance been provided? NO / YES. 1949

2. Has a State of Emergency been declared for the county or counties? NO / YES 1950

3. Have local community functions and services been disrupted by the wildland fire? 1951

NO / YES 1952

4. Has the local area been affected by another disaster in the past 12 months? 1953

NO / YES 1954

Assessment of wildfire effects on the local community, services, and economy: 1955

☐ Federal/State Government %_______ 1956

☐ Manufacturing %_______ 1957

☐ Mining %_______ 1958

☐ Farming (Agriculture, Ranches) %_______ 1959

☐ Crop loss %_______ 1960

☐ Grazing land %_______ 1961

☐ Livestock %_______ 1962

☐ Recreation (including destruction of areas surrounding recreation and tourism) %______ 1963

☐ Non-specialized County %_______ 1964

• Number of businesses threatened____ Number of secondary homes threatened:___ 1965

• Total population (# of people): ____ 1966

• Distance (in miles) to the nearest significant population center (grocery, service 1967

station): ____ 1968

• Total number of housing units in the county: ____ 1969

• Percentage of households in the County evacuated (excluding seasonal rentals): ____ 1970

Poverty level in the County and State (percent): 1971

County: ____ % 1972

State: ____ % 1973

Unemployment rate in the County and State (percent): 1974

County: ____ % 1975

State: ____ % 1976

Median household income in County and State (in dollars): 1977

County: ____ % 1978

State: ____ % 1979

Percentage of the population 65 years or older: ___ % 1980



E-2

Description of Effects on Community Functions/Services/Economy 1981

Use the space below to provide amplifying information: 1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995



F-1

APPENDIX F: FMAG FORMS 1996

Alphabetical Order by Form Name 1997

SF 424 Application for Federal Assistance 1998

FF 90-128 Applicant’s Benefits Calculation Worksheet 1999

FF 20-16A Assurances—Non-construction Programs 2000

FF 20-20 Budget Information—Non-construction Programs 2001

FF 20-16C Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension And Other 2002

Responsibility Matters; And Drug-Free Workplace Requirements 2003

FF 90-126 Contract Work Summary Record 2004

SF 425 Federal Financial Report 2005

FF 90-127 Force Account Equipment Summary Record 2006

FF 90-123 Force Account Labor Summary Record 2007

FF 90-124 Material Summary Sheet 2008

FF 078-0-2 Principal Advisor’s Report 2009

FF 009-0-0-7 Project Worksheet 2010

FF 90-91A Project Worksheet—Damage Description and Scope of Work Continuation 2011

Sheet 2012

FF 90-125 Rented Equipment Summary Record 2013

FF 078-0-1 Request for Fire Management Assistance Declaration 2014

FF 089-0-24 Request for Fire Management Assistance Subgrant 2015

FF 20-16 Summary Sheet for Assurances and Certifications 2016

Ascending Order by Form Number 2017

FF 009-0-0-7 Project Worksheet 2018

FF 078-0-1 Request for Fire Management Assistance Declaration) 2019

FF 078-0-2 Principal Advisor’s Report 2020



F-2

FF 089-0-24 Request for Fire Management Assistance Subgrant 2021

FF 20-16 Summary Sheet for Assurances and Certifications 2022

FF 20-16A Assurances—Non-construction Programs 2023

FF 20-16C Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other 2024

Responsibility Matters; And Drug-Free Workplace Requirements 2025

FF 20-20 Budget Information—Non-construction Programs 2026

SF 424 Application for Federal Assistance 2027

SF 425 Federal Financial Report 2028

FF 90-123 Force Account Labor Summary Record 2029

FF 90-124 Material Summary Sheet 2030

FF 90-125 Rented Equipment Summary Record 2031

FF 90-126 Contract Work Summary Record 2032

FF 90-127 Force Account Equipment Summary Record 2033

FF 90-128 Applicant’s Benefits Calculation Worksheet 2034

FF 90-91A Project Worksheet—Damage Description and Scope of Work Continuation 2035

Sheet 2036

APPENDIX G: FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEMS 2037

National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS)pp 2038

The National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) is a system that allows fire managers to 2039

estimate today’s or tomorrow’s fire danger for a given area. It combines the effects of 2040

existing and expected states of selected fire danger factors into one or more qualitative or 2041

numeric indices that reflect an area’s fire protection needs. Figure 3 shows a map of the 2042

NFDRS. 2043

pp https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/cibola/landmanagement/resourcemanagement/?cid=stelprdb5368839.


https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/cibola/landmanagement/resourcemanagement/?cid=stelprdb5368839


H-4

2044

Figure 2: NFDRS Map 2045

2046 DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT


H-4

2047

Haines Indexqq 2048

The Haines Index is used to indicate the potential for wildfire growth by measuring the 2049

stability and dryness of the air over a fire. It is calculated by combining the stability and 2050

moisture content of the lower atmosphere into a number that correlates well with large fire 2051

growth. Figure 4 shows a map of the Haines Index System. 2052

2053

Figure 3: Haines Index System 2054

2055

qq https://www.wfas.net/index.php/haines-index-fire-potential--danger-34.


https://www.wfas.net/index.php/haines-index-fire-potential--danger-34


H-4

2056

Keetch-Byram Drought Indexrr 2057

Keetch-Byram Drought Index is a drought index specifically for fire potential assessment. It 2058

is a number representing the net effect of evapotranspiration and precipitation in producing 2059

cumulative moisture deficiency in deep duff and upper soil layers. It is a continuous index, 2060

relating to the flammability of organic material in the ground. Figure 5 shows a map of the 2061

Keetch-Byram Drought Index. 2062

2063

Figure 4: Keetch-Byram Drought Index 2064

2065

rr https://www.wfas.net/index.php/keetch-byram-index-moisture--drought-49.


https://www.wfas.net/index.php/keetch-byram-index-moisture--drought-49


H-4

2066

Drought Severity Index (Palmer Index) 2067

Drought Severity Index (Palmer Index) measures the departure of the moisture supply at 2068

specific locations. The index is based on the supply-and-demand concept of the water 2069

balance equation, taking into account precipitation and temperature data, as well as the 2070

local available water content of the soil. The objective of the Palmer Drought Index was to 2071

provide measurements of moisture conditions that were standardized so that comparisons 2072

using the index could be made between locations and between months. Figure 6 shows a 2073

map of the Drought Severity Index System by division. 2074

2075

Figure 5: Drought Severity Index System 2076

2077



H-4

2078

Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS)ss 2079

The CFFDRS considers weather, fuels, and topography and the necessary inputs to predict 2080

forest fire danger. Forest fire danger is a general term used to express a variety of factors in 2081

the fire environment, such as ease of ignition and difficulty of control. The CFFDRS produce 2082

qualitative and/or numeric indices of fire potential. Figure 7 shows a map of the CFFDRS. 2083

2084

Figure 6: CFFDRS Map 2085

2086

2087

ss http://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/background/summary/fdr.


http://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/background/summary/fdr


H-4

2088

APPENDIX H: REFERENCES AND RESOURCES 2089

FMAG Program: www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grant-program 2090

FMAG Program Guide (FEMA P-954): www.fema.gov/media-2091


FMAG Program Forms 2093

http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/26237# 2094

Request for Fire Management Assistance Declaration - FEMA Form 078-0-1 2095

Principal Advisor’s Report 078-0-2 2096

Request for Fire Management Assistance Subgrant - FEMA Form (FF) 089-0-24 2097

Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) and Assurances (SF-424-D) 2098

www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424-instructions.html 2099

www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424d-instructions.html 2100

Financial Status Report (FSR) (FEMA Form (FF)-112-0-1) 2101

www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1856-25045-2102

9653/sf_financial_status_report.pdf 2103

Payment Management System Access Form and a Direct Deposit Form (SF-1199A) 2104

www.dpm.psc.gov/grant_recipient/access_procedure/access_procedure.aspx?explore.even2105

t=true 2106

Subaward Application / Project Worksheets (PWs) (FEMA Form 90-91) 2107

http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/9720 2108

Program References 2109

Appeal Procedures Manual and Directive: www.fema.gov/media-2110


Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) Number: www.dnb.com/get-a-duns-number.html 2112

Elements of a Project Worksheet (FEMA Fact Sheet 9580.5): 2113

www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/pa/9580_5.pdf 2114


http://www.fema.gov/fire-management-assistance-grant-program

http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/92379



http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424-instructions.html

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/form-instructions/sf-424d-instructions.html

http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1856-25045-9653/sf_financial_status_report.pdf

http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1856-25045-9653/sf_financial_status_report.pdf

http://www.dpm.psc.gov/grant_recipient/access_procedure/access_procedure.aspx?explore.event=true

http://www.dpm.psc.gov/grant_recipient/access_procedure/access_procedure.aspx?explore.event=true




http://www.dnb.com/get-a-duns-number.html

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/pa/9580_5.pdf


H-4

Equipment Rates: www.fema.gov/schedule-equipment-rates 2115

Procurement Guidance for Recipients and Subrecipients Under 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform 2116

Rules): www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/96773 2117

Recovery of Improper Payments (FEMA SOP 9570.16): www.fema.gov/media-2118


Statutes 2120

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as Amended (Stafford 2121

Act), Title 42 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) § 5121 et seq. 2122

www.fema.gov/robert-t-stafford-disaster-relief-and-emergency-assistance-act-public-law-93-2123

288-amended 2124

Federally Recognized Tribe List Act of 1994: 2125

http://uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/103/454.pdf 2126

Code of Federal Regulations 2127

2 CFR, Grants and Agreements: www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-2128

idx?SID=6bb67f6254dbbfb229adddfa247ca4eb&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2tab_2129

02.tpl 2130

2 CFR part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 2131

Requirements for Federal Awards: www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-2132

idx?SID=6bb67f6254dbbfb229adddfa247ca4eb&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5 2133

44 CFR part 204, Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program: www.ecfr.gov/cgi-2134

bin/textidx?SID=e9db96b738b11340c696c4ee451d3865&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&r2135

gn=div5 2136

Environmental Protection Laws and Executive Orders (EOs) 2137

Clean Air Act (CAA): www.epa.gov/air/caa/ 2138

Clean Water Act (CWA): www.epa.gov/agriculture/lcwa.html 2139

Endangered Species Act (ESA): www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/ 2140

DHS Implementation of National Environmental and Historical Preservation Act: 2141

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1470685189950-2142

29a76af41e54d0d2a9436215a7800e98/DHS_Instruction_Manual_023-01-001-2143

01_Rev01_508compliantversion.pdf 2144

Other Laws and EOs 2145


http://www.fema.gov/schedule-equipment-rates


http://www.fema.gov/robert-t-stafford-disaster-relief-and-emergency-assistance-act-public-law-93-288-amended

http://www.fema.gov/robert-t-stafford-disaster-relief-and-emergency-assistance-act-public-law-93-288-amended

http://uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/103/454.pdf

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6bb67f6254dbbfb229adddfa247ca4eb&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2tab_02.tpl



http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6bb67f6254dbbfb229adddfa247ca4eb&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6bb67f6254dbbfb229adddfa247ca4eb&mc=true&node=pt2.1.200&rgn=div5

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?SID=e9db96b738b11340c696c4ee451d3865&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5



http://www.epa.gov/air/caa/

http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/lcwa.html

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/laws-policies/

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1470685189950-29a76af41e54d0d2a9436215a7800e98/DHS_Instruction_Manual_023-01-001-01_Rev01_508compliantversion.pdf




H-4

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): www.ada.gov 2146

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) References 2147

FEMA: www.fema.gov 2148

National Disaster Recovery Framework: www.fema.gov/national-disaster-recovery-2149

framework 2150

National Response Framework (NRF): www.fema.gov/national-response-framework 2151

Other Federal Agencies 2152

Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): www.indianaffairs.gov 2153

National Weather Service (NWS): www.weather.gov 2154

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): www.dhs.gov 2155

DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG): www.oig.dhs.gov 2156

U.S. Department of Labor: www.dol.gov 2157

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS): www.fws.gov 2158

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO): www.gao.gov 2159

Web Links for Fire Weather 2160

USGS GEOMAC Wildland Fire Support Viewer https://www.geomac.gov/viewer/viewer.shtml 2161

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) – National Fire Situation Awareness Viewer 2162

https://maps.nwcg.gov/sa/#/%3F/39.9999/-97.1116/6 2163

USGS Fire Danger Viewer: https://firedanger.cr.usgs.gov/viewer/viewer.htm 2164

The following link includes the layers that displays Fires and Thermal Anomalies 2165

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ 2166

NASA – FIRMS Web Fire Mapper FIRMS https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/firemap/ 2167

National Weather Service – Fire Weather – Enhanced Data Display 2168

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/fire/ 2169

Weather/Climate Maps 2170

US Forest Service – Remote Sensing Applications Center – Latest Detected Fire Activity 2171


http://www.ada.gov/

http://www.fema.gov/

http://www.fema.gov/national-disaster-recovery-framework

http://www.fema.gov/national-disaster-recovery-framework

http://www.fema.gov/national-response-framework

http://www.indianaffairs.gov/

http://www.weather.gov/

http://www.dhs.gov/

http://www.oig.dhs.gov/

http://www.dol.gov/

http://www.fws.gov/

http://www.gao.gov/

https://www.geomac.gov/viewer/viewer.shtml

https://firedanger.cr.usgs.gov/viewer/viewer.htm

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/firemap/

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ridge2/fire/


H-4

https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/current.php 2172

National Weather Service – Fire Weather Outlooks 2173

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/ 2174

National Climate Data Center – Weekly Palmer Drought Indices 2175

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/drought/weekly-palmers/ 2176

USFS Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS) – Fire Danger Rating 2177

http://www.wfas.net/index.php/fire-danger-rating-fire-potential--danger-32 2178

USFS – WFAS – Fire Weather 2179

http://www.wfas.net/index.php/fire-weather-weather-35 2180

General Websites 2181

National Integrated Drought Information System (NISDIS) – U.S. Drought Portal 2182

https://www.drought.gov/drought/ 2183

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) https://www.nifc.gov/ 2184

National Geographic Area Coordination Centers (GACC) GACC http://gacc.nifc.gov/ 2185

US Forest Service – Wildland Fire Assessment System http://www.wfas.net/ 2186

NOAA – NWS – Storm Prediction Center (SPC) http://www.spc.noaa.gov/ 2187

APPENDIX I: STAFFORD ACT, PART 420, FIRE 2188

MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE 2189

Sec. 420. Fire Management Assistance (42 U.S.C. 5187) 2190

(a) In General - The President is authorized to provide assistance, including grants, 2191

equipment, supplies, and personnel, to any State or local government for the 2192

mitigation, management, and control of any fire on public or private forest land or 2193

grassland that threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. 2194

(b) Coordination with state and tribal Departments of Forestry - In providing 2195

assistance under this section, the President shall coordinate with State and tribal 2196

departments of forestry. 2197

(c) Essential assistance - In providing assistance under this section, the President 2198

may use the authority provided under section 5170b of this title [Section 403]. 2199


https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/current.php

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/drought/weekly-palmers/

http://www.wfas.net/index.php/fire-danger-rating-fire-potential--danger-32

http://www.wfas.net/index.php/fire-weather-weather-35

https://www.drought.gov/drought/

https://www.nifc.gov/

http://gacc.nifc.gov/

http://www.wfas.net/

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/


K-1

(d) Hazard mitigation assistance - Whether or not a major disaster is declared, the 2200

President may provide hazard mitigation assistance in accordance with section 2201

404 in any area affected by a fire for which assistance was provided under this 2202

section. 2203

(e) Rules and regulations - The President shall prescribe such rules and regulations 2204

as are necessary to carry out this section. 2205

2206



K-1

. 2207

APPENDIX J: 44 CFR PART 204 2208

Title 44: Emergency Management and Assistance 2209

PART 204—FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM 2210

____________________________________________________ 2211

Section Contents 2212

Subpart A—General 2213

§204.1 Purpose. 2214

§204.2 Scope. 2215

§204.3 Definitions used throughout this part. 2216

§§204.4-204.20 [Reserved] 2217

Subpart B—Declaration Process 2218

§204.21 Fire management assistance declaration criteria. 2219

§204.22 Submitting a request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2220

§204.23 Processing a request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2221

§204.24 Determination on request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2222

§204.25 FEMA-State agreement for fire management assistance grant program. 2223

§204.26 Appeal of fire management assistance declaration denial. 2224

§§204.27-204.40 [Reserved] 2225

Subpart C—Eligibility 2226

§204.41 Applicant eligibility. 2227

§204.42 Eligible costs. 2228

§204.43 Ineligible costs. 2229

§§204.44-204.50 [Reserved] 2230

Subpart D—Application Procedures 2231

§204.51 Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant. 2232

§204.52 Application and approval procedures for a subgrant under a fire management 2233

assistance grant. 2234

§204.53 Certifying costs and payments. 2235

§204.54 Appeals. 2236

§§204.55-204.60 [Reserved] 2237

Subpart E—Grant Administration 2238

§204.61 Cost share. 2239

§204.62 Duplication and recovery of assistance. 2240

§204.63 Allowable costs. 2241

§204.64 Reporting and audit requirements 2242


https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#sp44.1.204.a

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#se44.1.204_11



https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#se44.1.204_14_6204_120

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#sp44.1.204.b








https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#sp44.1.204.c





https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#sp44.1.204.d







https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=319d90780014136f83d6226c5f126953&mc=true&node=pt44.1.204&rgn=div5#sp44.1.204.e






K-1

Subpart A—General 2243

§204.1 Purpose. 2244

This part provides information on the procedures for the declaration and grants 2245

management processes for the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program in accordance 2246

with the provisions of section 420 of the Stafford Act. This part also details applicant 2247

eligibility and the eligibility of costs to be considered under the program. FEMA will actively 2248

work with State and Tribal emergency managers and foresters on the efficient delivery of fire 2249

management assistance as directed by this part. 2250

§204.2 Scope. 2251

This part is intended for those individuals responsible for requesting declarations and 2252

administering grants under the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program, as well as 2253

those applying for assistance under the program. 2254

§204.3 Definitions used throughout this part. 2255

Applicant. A State or Indian tribal government submitting an application to FEMA for a fire 2256

management assistance grant, or a State, local, or Indian tribal government submitting an 2257

application to the Recipient for a subgrant under an approved fire management assistance 2258

grant. 2259

Application for Federal Assistance. The form the State submits to apply for a grant under a 2260

fire management assistance declaration. 2261

Declared fire. An uncontrolled fire or fire complex, threatening such destruction as would 2262

constitute a major disaster, which the Administrator has approved in response to a State’s 2263

request for a fire management assistance declaration and in accordance with the criteria 2264

listed in §204.21. 2265

Demobilization. The process and procedures for deactivating, disassembling, and 2266

transporting back to their point of origin all resources that had been provided to respond to 2267

and support a declared fire. 2268

Fire complex. Two or more individual fires located in the same general area, which are 2269

assigned to a single Incident Commander. 2270

Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR). The person empowered by the Governor to 2271

execute, on behalf of the State, all necessary documents for fire management assistance, 2272

including the request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2273

Grant. An award of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements, by FEMA to an 2274

eligible Recipient. The grant award will be based on the projected amount of total eligible 2275



K-1

costs for which a State submits an application and that FEMA approves related to a declared 2276

fire. 2277

Hazard mitigation plan. A plan to develop actions the State, local, or tribal government will 2278

take to reduce the risk to people and property from all hazards. The intent of hazard 2279

mitigation planning under the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program is to identify 2280

wildfire hazards and cost-effective mitigation alternatives that produce long-term benefits. 2281

FEMA addresses mitigation of fire hazards as part of the State’s comprehensive Mitigation 2282

Plan, described in 44 CFR part 201. 2283

Incident commander. The ranking official responsible for overseeing the management of fire 2284

operations, planning, logistics, and finances of the field response. 2285

Incident period. The time interval during which the declared fire occurs. The Regional 2286

Administrator, in consultation with the Governor’s Authorized Representative and the 2287

Principal Advisor, will establish the incident period. Generally, costs must be incurred during 2288

the incident period to be considered eligible. 2289

Indian tribal government (tribal government). An Indian tribal government is any Federally 2290

recognized governing body of an Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 2291

or community that the Secretary of Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe under 2292

the Federally Recognized Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 479a. This does not include 2293

Alaska Native corporations, the ownership of which is vested in private individuals. 2294

Individual assistance. Supplementary Federal assistance provided under the Stafford Act to 2295

individuals and families adversely affected by a major disaster or an emergency. Such 2296

assistance may be provided directly by the Federal Government or through State or local 2297

governments or disaster relief organizations. For further information, see subparts D, E, and 2298

F of part 206. 2299

Local government. A local government is any county, municipality, city, town, township, 2300

public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments 2301

(regardless of whether the council of governments is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation 2302

under State law), regional or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a 2303

local government; any Indian tribal government or authorized tribal organization, or Alaska 2304

Native village or organization; and any rural community, unincorporated town or village, or 2305

other public entity, for which an application for assistance is made by a State or political 2306

subdivision of a State. 2307

Mitigation, management, and control. Those activities undertaken, generally during the 2308

incident period of a declared fire, to minimize immediate adverse effects and to manage 2309

and control the fire. Eligible activities may include associated emergency work and pre-2310

positioning directly related to the declared fire. 2311



K-1

Mobilization. The process and procedures used for activating, assembling, and transporting 2312

all resources that the Recipient requested to respond to support a declared fire. 2313

Performance period. The time interval designated on the Application for Federal Assistance 2314

for the Recipient and all subrecipients to submit eligible costs and have those costs 2315

processed, obligated, and closed out by FEMA. 2316

Pre-positioning. Moving existing fire prevention or suppression resources from an area of 2317

lower fire danger to one of higher fire danger in anticipation of an increase in fire activity 2318

likely to constitute the threat of a major disaster. 2319

Principal advisor. An individual appointed by the Forest Service, United States Department 2320

of Agriculture, or Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, who is 2321

responsible for providing FEMA with a technical assessment of the fire or fire complex for 2322

which a State is requesting a fire management assistance declaration. The Principal Advisor 2323

also frequently participates with FEMA on other wildland fire initiatives. 2324

Project worksheet. The form which identifies actual costs incurred by eligible applicants as a 2325

result of the eligible firefighting activities. 2326

Public assistance. Supplementary Federal assistance provided under the Stafford Act to 2327

State and local governments or certain private, nonprofit organizations for eligible 2328

emergency measures and repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities. For 2329

further information, see Subparts G and H of Part 206. 2330

Recipient. The Recipient is the government to which a grant is awarded which is 2331

accountable for the use of the funds provided. The Recipient is the entire legal entity even if 2332

only a particular component of the entity is designated in the grant award document. 2333

Generally, the State, as designated in the FEMA-State Agreement for the Fire Management 2334

Assistance Grant Program, is the Recipient. However, after a declaration, an Indian tribal 2335

government may choose to be a Recipient, or it may act as a subgrantee under the State. An 2336

Indian tribal government acting as Recipient will assume the responsibilities of a “state”, as 2337

described in this Part, for the purpose of administering the grant. 2338

Regional Administrator. The administrator of a regional office of FEMA, or his/her 2339

designated representative. 2340

Subgrant. An award of financial assistance under a grant by a Recipient to an eligible 2341

Subrecipient. 2342

Subrecipient. An applicant that is awarded a subgrant and is accountable to the Recipient 2343

for the use of grant funding provided. 2344



K-1

Threat of a major disaster. The potential impact of the fire or fire complex is of a severity 2345

and magnitude that would result in a presidential major disaster declaration for the Public 2346

Assistance Program, the Individual Assistance Program, or both. 2347

Uncontrolled fire. Any fire not safely confined to predetermined control lines as established 2348

by firefighting resources. 2349

§§204.4-204.20 [Reserved] 2350

Subpart B—Declaration Process 2351

§204.21 Fire management assistance declaration criteria. 2352

(a) Determinations. FEMA will approve declarations for fire management assistance when 2353

the Administrator determines that a fire or fire complex on public or private forest land or 2354

grassland threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. 2355

(b) Evaluation criteria. FEMA will evaluate the threat posed by a fire or fire complex based on 2356

consideration of the following specific criteria: 2357

(1) Threat to lives and improved property, including threats to critical 2358

facilities/infrastructure, and critical watershed areas; 2359

(2) Availability of State and local firefighting resources; 2360

(3) High fire danger conditions, as indicated by nationally accepted indices such as the 2361

National Fire Danger Ratings System; 2362

(4) Potential major economic impact. 2363

§204.22 Submitting a request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2364

The Governor of a State, or the Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR), may submit a 2365

request for a fire management assistance declaration. The request must be submitted while 2366

the fire is burning uncontrolled and threatens such destruction as would constitute a major 2367

disaster. The request must be submitted to the Regional Administrator and should address 2368

the relevant criteria listed in §204.21, with supporting documentation that contains factual 2369

data and professional estimates on the fire or fire complex. To ensure that FEMA can 2370

process a State’s request for a fire management assistance declaration as expeditiously as 2371

possible, the State should transmit the request by telephone, promptly followed by written 2372

documentation. 2373

§204.23 Processing a request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2374

(a) In processing a State’s request for a fire management assistance declaration, the 2375

Regional Administrator, in coordination with the Principal Advisor, will verify the information 2376

submitted in the State’s request. 2377



K-1

(b) The Principal Advisor, at the request of the Regional Administrator, is responsible for 2378

providing FEMA a technical assessment of the fire or fire complex for which the State is 2379

requesting a fire management assistance declaration. The Principal Advisor may consult 2380

with State agencies, usually emergency management or forestry, as well as the Incident 2381

Commander, in order to provide FEMA with an accurate assessment. 2382

§204.24 Determination on request for a fire management assistance declaration. 2383

The Administrator will review all information submitted in the State’s request along with the 2384

Principal Advisor’s assessment and render a determination. The determination will be based 2385

on the conditions of the fire or fire complex existing at the time of the State’s request. When 2386

possible, the Administrator will evaluate the request and make a determination within 2387

several hours. Once the Administrator renders a determination, FEMA will promptly notify the 2388

State of the determination. 2389

§204.25 FEMA-State agreement for fire management assistance grant program. 2390

(a) After a State’s request for a fire management assistance declaration has been approved, 2391

the Governor and Regional Administrator will enter into a standing FEMA-State Agreement 2392

(the Agreement) for the declared fire and for future declared fires in that calendar year. The 2393

State must have a signed and up-to-date FEMA-State Agreement before receiving Federal 2394

funding for fire management assistance grants. FEMA will provide no funding absent a 2395

signed and up-to-date Agreement. An Indian tribal government serving as Recipient, must 2396

sign a FEMA-Tribal Agreement, modeled upon the FEMA-State Agreement. 2397

(b) The Agreement states the understandings, commitments, and conditions under which 2398

FEMA will provide Federal assistance, including the cost share provision and articles of 2399

agreement necessary for the administration of grants approved under fire management 2400

assistance declarations. The Agreement must also identify the State legislative authority for 2401

firefighting, as well as the State’s compliance with the laws, regulations, and other 2402

provisions applicable to the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. 2403

(c) For each subsequently declared fire within the calendar year, the parties must add a 2404

properly executed amendment, which defines the incident period and contains the official 2405

declaration number. Other amendments modifying the standing Agreement may be added 2406

throughout the year to reflect changes in the program or signatory parties. 2407

§204.26 Appeal of fire management assistance declaration denial. 2408

(a) Submitting an appeal. When a State’s request for a fire management assistance 2409

declaration is denied, the Governor or GAR may appeal the decision in writing within 30 days 2410

after the date of the letter denying the request. The State should submit this one-time 2411

request for reconsideration in writing, with appropriate additional information to the 2412

Administrator through the Regional Administrator. The Administrator will reevaluate the 2413



K-1

State’s request and notify the State of the final determination within 90 days of receipt of 2414

the appeal or the receipt of additional requested information. 2415

(b) Requesting a time-extension. The Administrator may extend the 30-day period for filing 2416

an appeal, provided that the Governor or the GAR submits a written 2417

(c) Request for such an extension within the 30-day period. The Administrator will evaluate 2418

the need for an extension based on the reasons cited in the request and either approve or 2419

deny the request for an extension. 2420

§§204.27-204.40 [Reserved] 2421

Subpart C—Eligibility 2422

§204.41 Applicant eligibility. 2423

(a) The following entities are eligible to apply through a State Recipient for a subgrant under 2424

an approved fire management assistance grant: 2425

(1) State agencies; 2426

(2) Local governments; and 2427

(3) Indian tribal governments. 2428

(b) Entities that are not eligible to apply for a subgrant as identified in (a), such as privately-2429

owned entities and volunteer firefighting organizations, may be reimbursed through a 2430

contract or compact with an eligible applicant for eligible costs associated with the fire or 2431

fire complex. 2432

(c) Eligibility is contingent upon a finding that the Incident Commander or comparable State 2433

official requested the applying entity’s resources. 2434

(d) The activities performed must be the legal responsibility of the applying entity, required 2435

as the result of the declared fire, and located within the designated area. 2436

[66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] 2437

§204.42 Eligible costs. 2438

(a) General. (1) All eligible work and related costs must be associated with the incident 2439

period of a declared fire. 2440

(2) Before obligating Federal funds the Regional Administrator must review and approve the 2441

initial grant application, along with Project Worksheets submitted with the application and 2442

any subsequent amendments to the application. 2443



K-1

(3) Recipients will award Federal funds to subrecipients under State law and procedure and 2444

complying with 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002. 2445

(b) Equipment and supplies. Eligible costs include: 2446

(1) Personal comfort and safety items normally provided by the State under field conditions 2447

for firefighter health and safety. 2448

(2) Firefighting supplies, tools, materials, expended or lost, to the extent not covered by 2449

reasonable insurance, will be replaced with comparable items. 2450

(3) Operation and maintenance costs of publicly owned, contracted, rented, or volunteer 2451

firefighting department equipment used in eligible firefighting activities to the extent any of 2452

these costs are not included in applicable equipment rates. 2453

(4) Use of U.S. Government-owned equipment based on reasonable costs as billed by the 2454

Federal agency and paid by the State. (Only direct costs for use of Federal Excess Personal 2455

Property (FEPP) vehicles and equipment on loan to State Forestry and local cooperators may 2456

be eligible.) 2457

(5) Repair of equipment damaged in firefighting activities to the extent not covered by 2458

reasonable insurance. FEMA will use the lowest applicable equipment rates, or other rates 2459

that FEMA determines, to calculate the eligible cost of repairs. 2460

(6) Replacement of equipment lost or destroyed in firefighting activities, to the extent not 2461

covered by reasonable insurance, will be replaced with comparable equipment. 2462

(c) Labor costs. Eligible costs include: 2463

(1) Overtime for permanent or reassigned State and local employees. 2464

(2) Regular time and overtime for temporary and contract employees hired to perform fire-2465

related activities. 2466

(d) Travel and per diem costs. Eligible costs include: 2467

(1) Travel and per diem of employees who are providing services directly associated with 2468

eligible fire-related activities may be eligible. 2469

(2) Provision of field camps and meals when made available in place of per diem; 2470

(e) Pre-positioning costs. (1) The actual costs of pre-positioning Federal, out-of-State 2471

(including compact), and international resources for a limited period may be eligible when 2472

those resources are used in response to a declared fire. 2473

(2) The Regional Administrator must approve all pre-positioning costs. 2474



K-1

(i) Upon approval of a State’s request for a fire management assistance declaration by the 2475

Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate, the State should 2476

immediately notify the Regional Administrator of its intention to seek funding for pre-2477

positioning resources. 2478

(ii) The State must document the number of pre-positioned resources to be funded and their 2479

respective locations throughout the State, estimate the cost of the pre-positioned resources 2480

that were used on the declared fire and the amount of time the resources were pre-2481

positioned, and provide a detailed explanation of the need to fund the pre-positioned 2482

resources. 2483

(iii) The State will base the detailed explanation on recognized scientific indicators, that 2484

include, but are not limited to, drought indices, short-term weather forecasts, the current 2485

number of fires burning in the State, and the availability of in-State firefighting resources. 2486

The State may also include other quantitative indicators with which to measure the 2487

increased risk of the threat of a major disaster. 2488

(iv) Based on the information contained in the State’s notification, the Regional 2489

Administrator will determine the number of days of pre-positioning to be approved for 2490

Federal funding, up to a maximum of 21 days before the fire declaration. 2491

(3) Upon rendering his/her determination on pre-positioning costs, the Regional 2492

Administrator will notify the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate 2493

of his/her determination. 2494

(f) Emergency work. FEMA may authorize the use of section 403 of the Stafford Act, 2495

Essential Assistance, under an approved fire management assistance grant when directly 2496

related to the mitigation, management, and control of the declared fire. Essential assistance 2497

activities that may be eligible include, but are not limited to, police barricading and traffic 2498

control, extraordinary emergency operations center expenses, evacuations and evacuations, 2499

search and rescue, arson investigation teams, public information, and the limited removal of 2500

trees that pose a threat to the general public. 2501

(g) Temporary repair of damage caused by firefighting activities. Temporary repair of 2502

damage caused by eligible firefighting activities listed in this subpart involves short-term 2503

actions to repair damage directly caused by the firefighting effort or activities. This includes 2504

minimal repairs to bulldozer lines, camps, and staging areas to address safety concerns; as 2505

well as minimal repairs to facilities damaged by the firefighting activities such as fences, 2506

buildings, bridges, roads, etc. All temporary repair work must be completed within thirty days 2507

of the close of the incident period for the declared fire. 2508

(h) Mobilization and demobilization. Costs for mobilization to, and demobilization from, a 2509

declared fire may be eligible for reimbursement. Demobilization may be claimed at a 2510



K-1

delayed date if deployment involved one or more declared fires. If resources are being used 2511

on more than one declared fire, mobilization and demobilization costs must be claimed 2512

against the first declared fire. 2513

(i) Fires on co-mingled Federal/State lands. Reasonable costs for the mitigation,2514

management, and control of a declared fire burning on co-mingled Federal and State land2515

may be eligible in cases where the State has a responsibility for suppression activities under2516

an agreement to perform such action on a non-reimbursable basis. (This provision is an2517

exception to normal FEMA policy under the Stafford Act and is intended to accommodate2518

only those rare instances that involve State firefighting on a Stafford Act section 420 fire2519

incident involving co-mingled Federal/State and privately-owned forest or grassland.)2520

§204.43 Ineligible costs.2521

Costs not directly associated with the incident period are ineligible. Ineligible costs include 2522

the following: 2523

(a) Costs incurred in the mitigation, management, and control of undeclared fires;2524

(b) Costs related to planning, pre-suppression (i.e., cutting fire-breaks without the presence2525

of an imminent threat, training, road widening, and other similar activities), and recovery2526

(i.e., land rehabilitation activities, such as seeding, planting operations, and erosion control,2527

or the salvage of timber and other materials, and restoration of facilities damaged by fire); 2528

(c) Costs for the straight or regular time salaries and benefits of a Subrecipient’s2529

permanently employed or reassigned personnel;2530

(d) Costs for mitigation, management, and control of a declared fire on co-mingled Federal2531

land when such costs are reimbursable to the State by a Federal agency under another2532

statute (See 44 CFR part 51);2533

(e) Fires fought on Federal land are generally the responsibility of the Federal Agency that2534

owns or manages the land. Costs incurred while fighting fires on federally owned land are2535

not eligible under the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program except as noted in2536

§204.42(i).2537

§§204.44-204.50 [Reserved]2538

Subpart D—Application Procedures 2539

§204.51 Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.2540

(a) Preparing and submitting an application. (1) After the approval of a fire management2541

assistance declaration, the State may submit an application package for a grant to the2542

Regional Administrator. The application package must include the Application for Federal2543



K-1

Assistance and Summary of Assurances—Non-construction Programs, as well as supporting 2544

documentation for the budget. 2545

(2) The State must submit its grant application within 9 months of the declaration. Upon 2546

receipt of the written request from the State, the Regional Administrator may grant an 2547

extension for up to 6 months. The State’s request must include a justification for the 2548

extension. 2549

(b) Fire cost threshold. (1) FEMA will approve the initial grant award to the State when FEMA 2550

determines that the State’s application demonstrates either of the following: 2551

(i) Total eligible costs for the declared fire meet or exceed the individual fire cost threshold; 2552

or 2553

(ii) Total costs of all declared and non-declared fires for which a State has assumed 2554

responsibility in a given calendar year meet the cumulative fire cost threshold. 2555

(2) The individual fire cost threshold for a State is the greater of the following: 2556

(i) $100,000; or 2557

(ii) Five percent × $1.07 × the State population, adjusted annually for inflation using the 2558

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published annually by the Department of 2559

Labor. 2560

(3) The cumulative fire cost threshold for a State is the greater of the following: 2561

(i) $500,000; or 2562

(ii) Three times the five percent × $1.07 × the State population as described in 2563

§204.51(b)(2)(ii). 2564

(4) States must document the total eligible costs for a declared fire on Project Worksheets, 2565

which they must submit with the grant application. 2566

(5) FEMA will not consider the costs of pre-positioning resources for the purposes of 2567

determining whether the grant application meets the fire cost threshold. 2568

(6) When the State’s total eligible costs associated with the fire management assistance 2569

declaration meet or exceed the fire cost threshold eligible costs will be cost shared in 2570

accordance with §204.61. 2571

(c) Approval of the State’s grant application. The Regional Administrator has 45 days from 2572

receipt the State’s grant application or an amendment to the State’s grant application, 2573

including attached supporting Project Worksheet(s), to review and approve or deny the grant 2574

application or amendment; or to notify the Recipient of a delay in processing funding. 2575



K-1

(d) Obligation of the grant. Before FEMA approves the State’s grant application, the State 2576

must have an up-to-date State Administrative Plan and a Hazard Mitigation Plan that has 2577

been reviewed and approved by the Regional Administrator. Once these plans are approved 2578

by the Regional Administrator, the State’s grant application may be approved, and FEMA 2579

may begin to obligate the Federal share of funding for subgrants to the Recipient. 2580

(1) State administrative plan. (i) The State must develop an Administrative Plan (or have a 2581

current Administrative Plan on file with FEMA) that describes the procedures for the 2582

administration of the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. The Plan will include, at a 2583

minimum, the items listed below: 2584

(A) The designation of the State agency or agencies which will have responsibility for 2585

program administration. 2586

(B) The identification of staffing functions for the Fire Management Assistance Program, the 2587

sources of staff to fill these functions, and the management and oversight responsibilities of 2588

each. 2589

(C) The procedures for: 2590

(1) Notifying potential applicants of the availability of the program; 2591

(2) Assisting FEMA in determining applicant eligibility; 2592

(3) Submitting and reviewing subgrant applications; 2593

(4) Processing payment for subgrants; 2594

(5) Submitting, reviewing, and accepting subgrant performance and financial reports; 2595

(6) Monitoring, close-out, and audit and reconciliation of subgrants; 2596

(7) Recovering funds for disallowed costs; 2597

(8) Processing appeal requests and requests for time extensions; and 2598

(9) Providing technical assistance to applicants and subgrant recipients, including briefings 2599

for potential applicants and materials on the application procedures, program eligibility 2600

guidance and program deadlines. 2601

(ii) The Recipient may request the Regional Administrator to provide technical assistance in 2602

the preparation of the State Administrative Plan. 2603

(2) Hazard Mitigation Plan. As a requirement of receiving funding under a fire management 2604

assistance grant, a State, or tribal organization, acting as Recipient, must: 2605



K-1

(i) Develop a Mitigation Plan in accordance with 44 CFR part 201 that addresses wildfire 2606

risks and mitigation measures; or 2607

(ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation into the existing Mitigation Plan developed and approved 2608

under 44 CFR part 201 that also addresses wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation 2609

strategy and related mitigation initiatives. 2610

§204.52 Application and approval procedures for a subgrant under a fire management 2611

assistance grant. 2612

(a) Request for Fire Management Assistance. (1) State, local, and tribal governments 2613

interested in applying for fire management assistance subgrants must submit a Request for 2614

Fire Management Assistance subgrant to the Recipient in accordance with State procedures 2615

and within timelines set by the Recipient, but no longer than 30 days after the close of the 2616

incident period. 2617

(2) The Recipient will review and forward the Request to the Regional Administrator for final 2618

review and determination. The Recipient may also forward a recommendation for approval 2619

of the Request to the Regional Administrator when appropriate. 2620

(3) The Regional Administrator will approve or deny the request based on the eligibility 2621

requirements outlined in §204.41. 2622

(4) The Regional Administrator will notify the Recipient of his/her determination; the 2623

Recipient will inform the applicant. 2624

(b) Preparing a Project Worksheet. (1) Once the Regional Administrator approves an 2625

applicant’s Request for Fire Management Assistance, the Regional Administrator’s staff may 2626

begin to work with the Recipient and local staff to prepare Project Worksheets. 2627

(2) The Regional Administrator may request the Principal Advisor to assist in the preparation 2628

of Project Worksheets. 2629

(3) The State will be the primary contact for transactions with and on behalf of the applicant. 2630

(c) Submitting a Project Worksheet. (1) Applicants should submit all Project Worksheets 2631

through the Recipient for approval and transmittal to the Regional Administrator as part of 2632

the State’s application. 2633

(2) The Recipient will determine the deadline for an applicant to submit completed Project 2634

Worksheets, but the deadline must be no later than six months from close of the incident 2635

period. 2636



K-1

(3) At the request of the Recipient, the Regional Administrator may extend the time 2637

limitations in this section for up to 6 months when the Recipient justifies and makes a 2638

request in writing. 2639

(4) Project Worksheets will not be accepted after the deadline in paragraph (c)(2) of this 2640

section has expired, or, if applicable, after an extension specified by the Regional 2641

Administrator in paragraph (c)(3) of this section has expired. 2642

(5) $1,000 Project Worksheet minimum. When the costs reported are less than $1,000, 2643

that work is not eligible, and FEMA will not approve that Project Worksheet. This minimum 2644

threshold does not apply to Project Worksheets submitted for the direct and indirect costs of 2645

administration of a fire grant, as defined in §204.63. 2646

§204.53 Certifying costs and payments. 2647

(a) By submitting applicants’ Project Worksheets to FEMA, the Recipient is certifying that all 2648

costs reported on applicant Project Worksheets were incurred for work that was performed 2649

in compliance with FEMA laws, regulations, policy and guidance applicable to the Fire 2650

Management Assistance Grant Program, as well as with the terms and conditions outlined 2651

for the administration of the grant in the FEMA-State Agreement for the Fire Management 2652

Assistance Grant Program. 2653

(b) Advancement/Reimbursement for State grant costs will be processed as follows: 2654

(1) Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services SMARTLINK system; and 2655

(2) In compliance with 2 CFR 200.305 and U.S. Treasury 31 CFR part 205, Cash 2656

Management Improvement Act. 2657

§204.54 Appeals. 2658

An eligible applicant, Subrecipient, or Recipient may appeal any determination FEMA makes 2659

related to an application for the provision of Federal assistance according to the procedures 2660

below. 2661

(a) Format and content. The applicant or Subrecipient will make the appeal in writing 2662

through the Recipient to the Regional Administrator. The Recipient will review and evaluate 2663

all Subrecipient appeals before submission to the Regional Administrator. The Recipient may 2664

make Recipient-related appeals to the Regional Administrator. The appeal will contain 2665

documented justification supporting the appellant’s position, specifying the monetary figure 2666

in dispute and the provisions in Federal law, regulation, or policy with which the appellant 2667

believes the initial action was inconsistent. 2668

(b) Levels of appeal. (1) The Regional Administrator will consider first appeals for fire 2669

management assistance grant-related decisions under subparts A through E of this part. 2670



K-1

(2) The Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate will consider appeals 2671

of the Regional Administrator’s decision on any first appeal under paragraph (b)(1) of this 2672

section. 2673

(c) Time limits. (1) Appellants must file appeals within 60 days after receipt of a notice of the 2674

action that is being appealed. 2675

(2) The Recipient will review and forward appeals from an applicant or Subrecipient, with a 2676

written recommendation, to the Regional Administrator within 60 days of receipt. 2677

(3) Within 90 days following receipt of an appeal, the Regional Administrator (for first 2678

appeals) or Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate (for second 2679

appeals) will notify the Recipient in writing of the disposition of the appeal or of the need for 2680

additional information. A request by the Regional Administrator or Assistant Administrator for 2681

the Disaster Assistance Directorate for additional information will include a date by which 2682

the information must be provided. Within 90 days following the receipt of the requested 2683

additional information or following expiration of the period for providing the information, the 2684

Regional Administrator or Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate will 2685

notify the Recipient in writing of the disposition of the appeal. If the decision is to grant the 2686

appeal, the Regional Administrator will take appropriate implementing action. 2687

(d) Technical advice. In appeals involving highly technical issues, the Regional Administrator 2688

or may, at his or her discretion, submit the appeal to an independent scientific or technical 2689

person or group having expertise in the subject matter of the appeal for advice or 2690

recommendation. The period for this technical review may be in addition to other allotted 2691

time periods. Within 90 days of receipt of the report, the Regional Administrator or Assistant 2692

Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate will notify the Recipient in writing of the 2693

disposition of the appeal. 2694

(e) The decision of the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate at the 2695

second appeal level will be the final administrative decision of FEMA. 2696

§§204.55-204.60 [Reserved] 2697

Subpart E—Grant Administration 2698

§204.61 Cost share. 2699

(a) All fire management assistance grants are subject to a cost share. The Federal cost 2700

share for fire management assistance grants is seventy-five percent (75%). 2701

(b) As stated in §204.25, the cost share provision will be outlined in the terms and 2702

conditions of the FEMA-State Agreement for the Fire Management Assistance Grant 2703

Program. 2704



K-1

§204.62 Duplication and recovery of assistance. 2705

(a) Duplication of benefits. FEMA provides supplementary assistance under the Stafford Act, 2706

which generally may not duplicate benefits received by or available to the applicant from 2707

insurance, other assistance programs, legal awards, or any other source to address the 2708

same purpose. An applicant must notify FEMA of all benefits that it receives or anticipates 2709

from other sources for the same purpose and must seek all such benefits available to them. 2710

FEMA will reduce the grant by the amounts available for the same purpose from another 2711

source. FEMA may provide assistance under this Part when other benefits are available to 2712

an applicant, but the applicant will be liable to FEMA for any duplicative amounts that it 2713

receives or has available to it from other sources and must repay FEMA for such amounts. 2714

(b) Duplication of programs. FEMA will not provide assistance under this part for activities 2715

for which another Federal agency has more specific or primary authority to provide 2716

assistance for the same purpose. FEMA may disallow or recoup amounts that fall within 2717

another Federal agency’s authority. FEMA may provide assistance under this part, but the 2718

applicant must agree to seek assistance from the appropriate Federal agency and to repay 2719

FEMA for amounts that are within another Agency’s authority. 2720

(c) Negligence. FEMA will provide no assistance to an applicant for costs attributable to 2721

applicant’s own negligence. If the applicant suspects negligence by a third party for causing 2722

a condition for which FEMA made assistance available under this Part, the applicant is 2723

responsible for taking all reasonable steps to recover all costs attributable to the negligence 2724

of the third party. FEMA generally considers such amounts to be duplicated benefits 2725

available to the Recipient or Subrecipient and will treat them consistent with (a) of this 2726

section. 2727

(d) Intentional acts. Any person who intentionally causes a condition for which assistance is 2728

provided under this part shall be liable to the United States to the extent that FEMA incurs 2729

costs attributable to the intentional act or omission that caused the condition. FEMA may 2730

provide assistance under this part, but it will be conditioned on an agreement by the 2731

applicant to cooperate with FEMA in efforts to recover the cost of the assistance from the 2732

liable party. A person shall not be liable under this section as a result of actions the person 2733

takes or omits in the course of rendering care or assistance in response to the fire. 2734

§204.63 Allowable costs. 2735

2 CFR part 200, subpart E—Cost Principles establishes general policies for determining 2736

allowable costs. 2737

(a) FEMA will reimburse direct costs for the administration of a fire management assistance 2738

grant under 2 CFR part 200. 2739



K-1

(b) FEMA will reimburse indirect costs for the administration of a fire management 2740

assistance grant in compliance with the Recipient’s approved indirect cost rate under 2 CFR 2741

part 200. 2742

(c) Management costs as defined in 44 CFR part 207 do not apply to this section. 2743

§204.64 Reporting and audit requirements 2744

(a) Reporting. Within 90-days of the Performance Period expiration date, the State will 2745

submit a final Financial Status Report, which reports all costs incurred within the incident 2746

period and all administrative costs incurred within the performance period; and 2747

(b) Audit. (1) Audits will be performed, for both the Recipient and the subrecipients, under 2 2748

CFR §200.500-200.520. 2749

(2) FEMA may elect to conduct a program-specific Federal audit on the Fire Management 2750

Assistance Grant or a subgrant. 2751

2752



K-1

APPENDIX K: MAP OF FEMA REGIONS 2753

2754

2755

2756

2757

2758

2759
