2008 Supporting Statement 1660-0054 9-12-08

September 10, 2008

Supporting Statement for

Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

OMB Control Number: 1660 - 0054

Title: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Applications.

Form Number(s): FEMA Form 080-2, FEMA Form 080-3, FEMA Form 080-4, FEMA Form 080-5, FEMA Form 080-6, FEMA Form 080-7, FEMA Form 080-8, FEMA Form 080-10, and FEMA Form 080-12.

General Instructions

A Supporting Statement, including the text of the notice to the public required by 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(i)(iv) and its actual or estimated date of publication in the Federal Register, must accompany each request for approval of a collection of information. The Supporting Statement must be prepared in the format described below, and must contain the information specified in Section A below. If an item is not applicable, provide a brief explanation. When Item 17 or the OMB Form 83-I is checked “Yes,” Section B of the Supporting Statement must be completed. OMB reserves the right to require the submission of additional information with respect to any request for approval.

Specific Instructions

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information. Provide a detailed description of the nature and source of the information to be collected.

Information sought under this submission will comprise the grant applications for Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), Fire Prevention and Safety (FPS),

and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). The authorizing legislation allows DHS to fund fire department activities in as many as fourteen different areas. The authority for AFG and FPS is derived from the Federal Fire Protection and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. §§ 2229 et seq.), as amended. The authority for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) is derived from 15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq. The information collected is grant application information which is necessary to assess the needs of the applicants as well as the benefits to be obtained from the use of funds. The information collected through the program’s application is the minimum necessary to evaluate grant applications and is necessary for DHS to comply with mandates delineated in the law. The collection includes details concerning the applicants’ demographics, capabilities, and operational resources as well as details specific to their request.

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection. Provide a detailed description of: how the information will be shared, if applicable, and for what programmatic purpose.

The information is collected via a web-based application. We do have paper forms available in the event an applicant can not enter their information though our web application. Over the last four years, we have received approximately 100,000 individual applications and only two were received in paper form. We anticipate this fiscal year (FY 2009) the application period for FIRE Grants will begin in early March 2009, and end in early April 2009, and the tentative application period for FPS will begin in early September 2009, and end in early October 2009.

FEMA uses this information to ensure that FEMA’s responsibilities under the legislation can be fulfilled, accurately and efficiently. For example, FEMA must ensure that funds are distributed to urban, suburban and rural fire departments and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) organizations and to assure that no more than two percent of the appropriation is awarded to EMS organizations. FEMA must ensure that the funds are distributed among career and volunteer/combination departments proportionally equal to the percentage of the nation’s population that those fire departments protect. Also, FEMA must ensure that fire departments provide non-federal cash match for the FIRE Grants.

The information collected is used to objectively evaluate each of the anticipated applicants to determine which of the applicants’ proposals in each of the activities are the closest to the established program priorities. FEMA also uses the information to determine eligibility and whether the proposed use of funds meets the requirements and intent of the legislation.

This information will not be shared beyond the scope of the program.

Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG)

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program's objective is to provide funding directly to fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of the public and first responder personnel against fire and fire-related hazards. Over the last five years this program has provided grant funding directly to individual fire departments on a competitive basis.

Because of the complexities of administering such a large program, DHS has elected to fund 12 activities that are the most beneficial to fire departments, non-affiliated Emergency Medical Service (EMS) organizations, and the public.

Fire Prevention and Safety (FPS)

One of the 12 eligible activities is FPS. Fire departments and National, State, Regional and Local organizations are eligible to apply for assistance under FPS. FPS grants provide funding for an array of prevention activities aimed at protecting the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel. Grant funds are available to fire departments as well as national, state, local, or regional organizations that specialize in prevention activities.

The program was established via an amendment to the Federal Fire Protection and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229). The section provided that the Director of FEMA may make grants to fire departments only if the applicant agrees to use the funds for one or more of the purposes below. Between the original authorization in 2001 and the reauthorization in 2005, we, for all intents and purposes, funded all of the listed activities below except for hiring of firefighters and recruitment and retention activities, items 1 and 14 below in italics. All other activities were funded either directly or indirectly via the 12 activities delineated below.

1) to hire additional firefighters

2) to train firefighters

3) to create rapid intervention teams

4) to certify fire inspectors

5) to establish wellness and fitness programs

6) to fund emergency medical services

7) to acquire firefighting vehicles

8) to acquire firefighting equipment

9) to acquire personal protective equipment

10) to modify fire stations

11) to enforce fire codes

12) to fund fire prevention programs

13) to educate the public about arson prevention

14) to provide incentives for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.

The specific activities that were fund are:

1) training (#2 above), which includes: creating rapid intervention teams (#3) and EMS (#6),

2) wellness/fitness (#5),

3) firefighting vehicles (#7), which includes: firefighting equipment (#8) and training (#2),

4) firefighting equipment (#8), which also includes: creating rapid intervention teams (#3) and EMS (#6),

5) personal protective equipment (#9), which also includes creating rapid intervention teams (#3) and EMS (#6),

6) modify facilities (# 10), and

7) fire prevention (#12 above), which includes: fire inspector training (#4 above); enforcing fire codes (#11); and, educating the public (#13).

In the AFG application, there are two “program” areas: “Operations and Safety,” which is training, wellness, equipment, personal protective equipment and modifications, and “Vehicles.” We also have a separate funding opportunity in FPS. Finally, in 2005 when the AFG was reauthorized, Congress created a second, separate program called SAFER which forced us to implement the two activities that we had not elected to fund theretofore which were hiring and recruitment and retention, items 1 and 14 of the list above.

Due to more wide-ranging span of eligibility, we have a separate application period for interested parties seeking grants for Fire Prevention and Safety (FPS) activities. Fire prevention and safety activities includes public education and awareness, enforcement of fire codes, arson prevention and detection, as well as research and development into areas that would protect firefighters from fire and fire related hazards. New to the FPS program in FY 2005 were research and development projects that would have an impact on the health and/or safety of firefighters.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program

The SAFER objective is to provide funding directly to fire departments for the purpose of increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments that antedate the creation of the DHS grant funds are available in two activities: Hiring Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters. The grant application for SAFER is necessary in order for DHS to effectively implement this competitive grant program.

The SAFER program provides for $110,000,000 in grant funding to be distributed directly to individual fire departments on a competitive basis. The law allows DHS to provide funds to pay the salaries and benefits of newly hired firefighters with decreasing Federal contributions over the span of five years. The law also allows DHS to provide funding to volunteer and combination fire departments to create or expand a recruitment and retention program for volunteer firefighters. The funding is available for up to four years depending on the original proposal submitted by the grantee.

The information collected through the program’s application is the minimum necessary to evaluate grant applications authorized under these three grant programs or is necessary for DHS to comply with mandates delineated in the law.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

FEMA will use a web-based application, the FEMA-DHS Integrated Security and Access Control System, for these grant programs. We anticipate this fiscal year (FY 2009) the application period will begin in early March 2009, and end in early April 2009, and the application period for FPS will begin on early September 2009, and end in early October 2009.

It is FEMA’s intention to have each application evaluated and ranked automatically by the automated system prior to review by a panel of subject-matter experts. Paper applications will be available and accepted, but any eligible applications submitted in paper will be converted into electronic form in order to be consistent in the evaluation process.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.



The U.S. Fire Administration has an incident reporting system that is used to compile fire-related statistics. The system is called National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), is approved under OMB No.1660-0069 and participation in it is completely voluntary. The NFIRS is a fire incident collection instrument and does not involve a fire department’s fiscal concerns or operational needs; therefore, there is little information that would overlap our collection which is primarily financially and operationally based. NFIRS, based on its voluntary nature, is not an accurate accounting of all of the functions performed on a yearly basis by a grant applicant. Due to this incomplete data, basing a grant application on the information available in the NFIRS would incorrectly restrict awards to deserving respondents. But, to the extent possible, the information in NFIRS will be used for those applicants that have participated in the past in lieu of requiring those applicants to resubmit the same information.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities (Item 5 of OMB Form 83-I), describe any methods used to minimize.

This information collection does not have an impact on small businesses or other small entities.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal/FEMA program or policy activities if the collection of information is not conducted, or is conducted less frequently as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

The purpose of this collection of information is to award grants that allow for the protection of the health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel throughout the nation against fire and fire-related hazards, provide funds for firefighter safety research and provide assistance to EMS organizations. If the information collection is not conducted, the grants available for these purposes cannot be awarded and the benefits of the activities associated with each of the grant purposes would not be achieved.

The information is necessary in order for FEMA to assess the financial needs of the applicants as well as the projected benefits to be obtained from the use of the grant funds.

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner:

1. Requiring respondents to report information to the agency more

often than quarterly.



There is no requirement for respondents to report more often than quarterly.

 (b) Requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a

collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it.



There is no requirement to provide a written response to the collection in less than 30 days after receipt of it.

2. Requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two

copies of any document.



There is no requirement to submit more than an original and two copies of any document.

3. Requiring respondents to retain records, other than health,

medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years.



There is no requirement to retain records for more than three years.

4. In connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to

produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study.



There is no statistical survey involved with this collection. OMB did request as short term questionnaire to be constructed to validate the time completion for this application process as a check on the time estimates provided. That questionnaire is included in this emergency request as well and is already authorized under this OMB control number as stated by OMB in the terms of clearance.

 (f) Requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not

been reviewed and approved by OMB.

There is not use of statistical data classification in this collection.

 (g) That includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by

authority established in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use.



There is no pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in statute or regulation for this data collection.

 (h) Requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information’s confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.



There is no requirement for respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information for this data collection.

8. Federal Register Notice:



 a. Provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency’s notice soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.



An Emergency Approval Request, which is a 30-60-day Federal Register Notice inviting public comments was published on [date, Volume xx, Number xx, pp. xx]. [Select one---No comments were received OR x number of comments related to (state topic of comments) were received]. Please see attached copy of the published notice included in this package.

 b. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

DHS consults on a regular basis with a panel of subject matter experts from national and international fire service organizations. Many of these experts are, or have been, chiefs of fire departments in their own communities, therefore, they were sensitive to the burdens the collection may have on the applicants. These experts, by consensus, developed the form, format, and content of the grant program’s applications. The panel agreed that the data collected is the absolute minimum necessary in order to evaluate the applications fairly and equitably.

c. Describe consultations with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records. Consultation should occur at least once every three years, even if the collection of information activities is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

Annually, FEMA (previously DHS) convenes with a panel of expert reviewers to review the grant programs’ processes and priorities as well as the grant applications to endorse and/or modify the necessity of the information collected and develop criteria for each of the eligible activities.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

There are no payments or gifts to respondents for this data collection.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents. Present the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.



The information will be kept private or anonymous to the extent allowable by law.

11. Provide additional justification for any question of a sensitive nature (such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs and other matters that are commonly considered private). This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

There are no questions of a sensitive nature required in this data collection.

 12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:



 a. Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desired. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

AFG

This collection is a Reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired, and upon last submission we requested that we would receive 25,000 applications. It was discontinued on 4/30/06. These are the same values requested upon last submission that we are re-submitting for AFG. There are three forms in the AFG application. Each is completed separately and is a separate form. It takes an average of the following hours to complete the components of the AFG Grant Application.  It takes six the general questions required for all applicants.  In addition, applicants can complete the vehicle acquisition questions at one half of an hour each. The fire operations and safety questions are at an hour each.  

FPS

It is expected that the FPS grant process will receive 5,000. There are two forms in the FPS application. Each is completed separately and is a separate form. For the FPS Grant Application, there are two components.  Those are the fire prevention and safety questions which 5,000 take at 1.5 hours and the research and development narrative which 50 applicants take at the rate of 20 hours each.

SAFER

It is expected that the SAFER grant process will receive 4,000 applications. The SAFER application has three forms applicants could fill out. The first is the Firefighters Activity Questions at 2.75 hours, and the Response Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Questions at 3 hours per applicant.

The total annual burden hours for this entire collection including all three grant programs, therefore, are 193,875 hours. This collection is necessary for the appropriate evaluation of these applications under this competitive process.

OMB Terms of Clearance: Completion Time Verification

There is one other form associated with this package that is not part of the grant application process, a special survey instructed by OMB. In a Notice of Action issued on 3/1/2003, a terms of clearance for this collection was stated wherein it was stated that authorization was given under the issued OMB Control Number for this collection to conduct a follow up with a random sample of respondents to this information collection to validate FEMA’s estimates of the hour and cost burden for this collection. The collection was later discontinued on 4/30/06. The program office has complied with OMB’s terms of clearance for this collection stated on 3/1/2003.

In compliance with the terms of clearance, the following form number, FF 080-12: Fire Grant Application Completion Questionnaire was issued to this questionnaire that the program office has constructed for time completion verification for prior applicants. This is one-time questionnaire and is not part of the grant application process and will not be part of the re-submitted package when the collection is sent for regular, non-emergency approval. It is not part of the grant application process as a verification of the amount of time it took applicants to complete prior applications.

The respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden for this form are as follows. This is not summated with part of the burden for OMB No.1660-0054 and will not be when this is re-submitted for regular non-emergency approval. It is a random sample of 1000 prior grant applicants. They survey is electronic, and it takes 5 minutes per respondent to complete. It is estimated to be 80 annual burden hours to complete this special survey instructed by OMB.

 b. If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13 of OMB Form 83-I.

c. Provide an estimate of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost to the respondents of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead this cost should be included in Item 13.

Table A.12: Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs
Type of Respondent	Form Name / Form Number	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Avg. Burden per Response (in hours)	Total Annual Burden (in hours)	Avg. Hourly Wage Rate	Total Annual Respondent Cost
AFG
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-2: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application General Questions	24,950	1	6	149,700	$31.60	4,730,520
Not-for-profit institutions	FF 080-2: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application General Questions	50	1	6	300	$27.50	8,250
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-3: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Vehicle Acquisition Questions	9,950	1	0.5	4,975	$31.60	157,210
Not-for-profit institutions	FF 080-3: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Vehicle Acquisition Questions	50	1	0.5	25	$27.50	687.5
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-4: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Fire Operations and Safety Questions	14,950	1	1	14,950	$31.60	472,420
Not-for-profit institutions	FF 080-4: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Fire Operations and Safety Questions	50	1	1	50	$27.50	1,375
Sub-total		50,000			170,000		5,370,463
FPS
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-5: Fire Prevention and Safety Questions	5,000	1	1.5	7,500	$31.60	237,000
Not-for-profit institutions	FF 080-6: Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development Application Narrative	50	1	20	1,000	$31.60	31,600
Sub-total		5,050			8,500		268,600
SAFER
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-7: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response General Questions for All Applicants	4,000	1	1.0	4,000	$31.60	126,400
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-8: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Hiring of Firefighters Activity Questions	2,500	1	2.75	6,875	$31.60	217,250
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-10: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Questions	1,500	1	3.0	4,500	$31.60	142,200
SAFER Sub-total		8,000			15,375		485,850
OMB Terms of Clearance Requirement
State, Local, or Tribal Government	FF 080-12: Fire Grant Application Completion Questionnaire	1000	1	.08	80	$31.60	2,528
Sub-total		1000	1	.08	80	$31.60	2,528
Grand Total		64,050			193,995		$6,127,441

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics website (www.bls.gov) the wage rate category for 1^st Line Supervisor/Manager Firefighting and Prevention Worker is estimated to be $31.60 per hour, and the wage rate category for University Level Environmental Research Scientists is estimated to be $27.50 per hour, therefore, the estimated burden hour cost to respondents is estimated to $6,127,441 annually when multiplied by 193,995 total annual burden hours.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. The cost of purchasing or contracting out information collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14.)

The cost estimates should be split into two components:

a. Operation and Maintenance and purchase of services component. These estimates should take into account cost associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred.

There are no operational and/or maintenance costs for this collection. Any equipment (such as computers) used to submit the collection is already owned by the applicants or readily available at no cost.

b. Capital and Start-up-Cost should include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as purchasing computers and software, monitoring sampling, drilling and testing equipment, and record storage facilities.

Annual Cost Burden to Respondents or Record-keepers

Data Collection Activity/Instrument	*Annual Capital Start-Up Cost (investments in overhead, equipment and other one-time expenditures)	*Annual Operations and Maintenance Cost (such as recordkeeping, technical/professional services, ect.)	Annual Non-Labor Cost (expenditures on training, travel and other resources)	Total Annual Cost to Respondents
	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

There are no capital or start-up costs for this collection. And information required to be submitted is already available to the respondent, and no additional costs to the respondent are placed on them by the requirements of this program.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing and support staff), and any other expense that would have been incurred without this collection of information. You may also aggregate cost estimates for Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

Annual Cost to the Federal Government
Item	Cost ($)
Contract Costs (Include survey development, implementation, analysis and reporting)	3,850,000
Staff Salaries (two hours per day of the Project Officer’s time calculated at the GS-14 level, 76.9 per hour x 2 hrs. per day = 153.8 x 5= 769.2 per week and x 52 weeks = 40,000.00)	40,000
Total	$3,890,000

The chart above provides details about the approximate cost to the Government of this data collection:

Contract costs/operational costs are estimated at $3,850,000 per year. These costs include staffing, maintaining the electronic database, and report generation. There are 11 full-time contractor staff who oversee the database management and report generation under this endeavor, and the IT maintenance for the online web form application is included in the $3.89 million contractor costs detailed above, as the largest expense.

Staff salaries are estimated at $40,000 per year. They include approximately two hours per day of the Project Officer’s time calculated at the GS-14 level.

 15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-I in a narrative form. Present the itemized changes in hour burden and cost burden according to program changes or adjustments in Table 5. Denote a program increase as a positive number, and a program decrease as a negative number.

A "Program increase" is an additional burden resulting from an federal government regulatory action or directive. (e.g., an increase in sample size or coverage, amount of information, reporting frequency, or expanded use of an existing form). This also includes previously in-use and unapproved information collections discovered during the ICB process, or during the fiscal year, which will be in use during the next fiscal year.

A "Program decrease", is a reduction in burden because of: (1) the discontinuation of an information collection; or (2) a change in an existing information collection by a Federal agency (e.g., the use of sampling (or smaller samples), a decrease in the amount of information requested (fewer questions), or a decrease in reporting frequency).

"Adjustment" denotes a change in burden hours due to factors over which the government has no control, such as population growth, or in factors which do not affect what information the government collects or changes in the methods used to estimate burden or correction of errors in burden estimates.

Itemized Changes in Annual Burden Hours
Data collection Activity/Instrument	Program Change (hours currently on OMB Inventory)	Program Change (New)	Difference	Adjustment (hours currently on OMB Inventory)	Adjustment (New)	Difference
AFG
FF 080-2: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application General Questions	0	150,000	+150,000
FF 080-3: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Vehicle Acquisition Questions	0	5,000	+5,000
FF 080-4: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Fire Operations and Safety Questions	0	15,000	+15,000
AFG Sub-total		170,000	+170,000
FPS
FF 080-5: Fire Prevention and Safety Questions	0	7,500	+7,500
FF 080-6: Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development Application Narrative	0	1,000	+1,000
FPS Sub-total		8,500	+8,500
SAFER
FF 080-7: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response General Questions for All Applicants	0	4,000	+4,000
FF 080-8: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Hiring of Firefighters Activity Questions	0	6,875	+6,875
FF 080-10: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Questions	0	4,500	+4,500
SAFER Sub-total	0	15,375	+15,375
OMB Terms of Clearance Requirement
FF 080-12: Fire Grant Application Completion Questionnaire		80	+80
Sub-total		80	+80
Grand Total	0	193,995	+193,995

Explain: This information collection is being reinstated, and therefore, there are only positive adjustments. There are no changes in AFG or FPS. There are additions to this collecting due to the capturing of a new grant program, SAFER as well as the short term questionnaire, the OMB Terms of Clearance Requirement.

Itemized Changes in Annual Cost Burden
Data collection Activity/Instrument	Program Change (cost currently on OMB Inventory)	Program Change (New)	Difference	Adjustment (cost currently on OMB Inventory)	Adjustment (New)	Difference
AFG
FF 080-2: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application General Questions	0	4,738,770	4,738,770
FF 080-3: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Vehicle Acquisition Questions	0	157,897.5	157,897.5
FF 080-4: Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application Fire Operations and Safety Questions	0	473,795	473,795
AFG Sub-total		5,370,463	5,370,463
FPS
FF 080-5: Fire Prevention and Safety Questions	0	237,000	+237,000
FF 080-6: Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development Application Narrative	0	31,600	+31,600
FPS Sub-total		268,600	+268,600
SAFER
FF 080-7: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response General Questions for All Applicants	0	126,400	+126,400
FF 080-8: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Hiring of Firefighters Activity Questions	0	217,250	+217,250
FF 080-10: Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Questions	0	142,200	+142,200
SAFER Sub-total	0	485,850	+485,850
OMB Terms of Clearance Requirement
FF 080-12: Fire Grant Application Completion Questionnaire		2,528	+2,528
Sub-total		2,528	+2,528
Grand Total	0	$6,127,441	+$6,127,441

Explain: This information collection is being reinstated, and therefore, there are only positive adjustments. There are no changes in AFG or FPS. There are additions to this collecting due to the capturing of a new grant program, SAFER as well as the short term questionnaire, the OMB Terms of Clearance Requirement.



16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.



This information collection will not be published for statistical purposes.

17. If seeking approval not to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain reasons that display would be inappropriate.

FEMA will display the expiration date for OMB approval of this information collection.



18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB Form 83-I.

There is no statistical survey methodology in this grant application, and no Part B is included.

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