SAFER HIRING IN BRIEF

Brought to you by the FireGrantsHelp Team

What is SAFER? (We’re so glad you asked!)

SAFER Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response

The goal of SAFER is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities so they can meet industry standards for fire response and provide adequate and timely protection from fire hazards.

SAFER is offered by FEMA and has $340 million available in FY2015 to support fire departments nationwide!

SAFER Hiring • Financial assistance to help fire departments

– Rehire firefighters who have been laid off – Retain firefighters facing imminent layoffs – Fill positions that were vacated through attrition – Hire new firefighters

• SAFER positions will receive grant money to

pay the salaries and benefits for 2 years

Oh and by the way – NO MATCH REQUIRED

Who can apply?

– Career fire departments – Combination fire departments – Volunteer fire department

Only full-time firefighter positions will be funded (includes job-shares) Full-time positions means at least 2,080 hours per year (e.g., 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year)

Funding Priorities Priority 1: Rehiring of laid-off firefighters • Positions must be terminated no more than 2 years prior to the start

of the application period

Priority 2: Retention of firefighters to be laid-off in the future and/or filling positions left vacant through attrition that weren’t filled because of economic factors • To retain: firefighters must have received a formal layoff notice

(before application period starts) that includes a specific layoff date OR face imminent layoff within 120 days of the application deadline

• To fill attrition: positions cannot be vacant for more than 2 years Priority 3: Hiring of new firefighters • Limited to operational positions where at least 51% of duties are fire

suppression (including staffing a fire suppression vehicle)

Key Dates Application Opens: 2/22/2016

Application Deadline: 3/25/2016

Award Notification: anticipate all

notices will be issued by September 30, 2016

8 Simple Rules to Get Started

Rule #1: Identify the Legal Applicant

For Hiring Applications, this is typically the entity that issues your paycheck

– City, town, township, county – Fire Protection District

Obtain the DUNS Number & EIN from your Finance Office

Your DUNS number will look something like this

Your EIN will looks something like this

Rule #2: Check SAM Registration

The Legal Applicant must have an active SAM.gov Entity Record

• When you apply • When you are awarded • Throughout the duration of your federal

award If the Legal Applicant is not registered in SAM.gov, ask your Finance Office to create an Entity Record

Rule # 3: Access the FEMA Portal Your organization must have an active FEMA registration status - you can’t apply to SAFER without one

Has your organization ever received a FEMA grant?

Be sure to use the same Portal Account! (get help if you don’t know or are locked out)

Money doesn’t grow on trees…that’s why we have grants

Rule #4: Know Your Facts

Ask these questions: • What are the department’s current staffing

practices? • Have you conducted a risk and/or staffing needs

analysis? • What NFPA Standards are you trying to meet? • How will additional firefighters help protect the

community? Data and facts make for a strong application!

…oh, and get your call data ready!

Now in NFIRS format (this means different call volume categories) If you don’t report, that’s OK

(but you’ll need to start if you’re awarded) What’s NFIRS? The National Fire Incident Reporting System. It may be called something different in your state (learn more about NFIRS)

You’ll need to describe: Organization budget for 2015 and 2016

• How does it compare to budgets from the last 3-5 years?

• How do revenue and expenses compare to the budget?

Legal Applicant’s financial situation

• How does it impact your organization budget?

• What other costs or revenue challenges are straining the budget?

Rule #5: Financial Details Required

If you’re still using one of these to do math, click for help

Rule #6: Know your Needs Has it become difficult to respond to fire-related incidents within established time limits? Is your department meeting NFPA Standards for response time and staffing levels?

Rule #7: Understand How Applications are Judged

The review process consists of: • Computer Scoring –application data is crunched

by a computer • Peer Review – 2 reviewers read and score your

narrative • Technical Review – FEMA staff checks

administrative items are in order before issuing an award

tip: Make sure any old AFG, SAFER or FP&S awards are closed out before you apply!

Rule #8: Plan Accordingly

Narratives are important BUT the Narratives are only read if your application passes Computer Scoring The moral of the story: There is no room for error

Still have questions? We can help! Our Grant Writers: • Have a combined 30+ years

of grant writing experience • Many are active members

of the public safety community!

• Helped fund more than $75 million in grant awards!

• Have a grant success rate of 60% higher than the national average!

Use code: SAFER15 before the end of February to get 15% off grant writing

help today!

To work with the best of the best