Form FEMA Form 080-8 FEMA Form 080-8 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Hiring

O.M.B. No. 1660-0054

FF 080-8

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Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 7.5 hours per response. The burden estimate includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and submitting the form. You are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number.  Send comments regarding the accuracy of the burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to: Information Collections Management, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20472, Paperwork Reduction Project (1660-0054) NOTE: Do not send your completed form to this address.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Hiring of Firefighters Application (Questions and Narrative)

Hiring Activity

Please provide the following additional information regarding your Fire Department. Volunteer Firefighter Interest Groups are not eligible for this activity.

Note: Fields marked with an * are required.

Hiring Firefighters
* 1. The Hiring of FF activity requires a considerable cost-share on behalf of the applicant and/or its governing body. As such, it is imperative that the local governing body be aware of and support this application. Have you, as the applicant, discussed this application and its long-term obligations with your governing body and is your governing body willing to accept this long term commitment?							○ Yes ○ No
* 2. If awarded a hiring grant, will the newly added firefighters be trained to at least Firefighter I or equivalent within 6 months of employment?							○ Yes ○ No
* 3. If awarded a hiring grant, will the newly added firefighters be trained to at least Firefighter II or equivalent within 24 months of employment?							○ Yes ○ No
* 4. If awarded a hiring grant, will the newly added firefighters be trained within 24 months of employment to at least the minimum level of EMS certification as established by the local fire department?							○ Yes ○ No
*5. Select which line-item below best describes your organization and the NFPA standard you are attempting to meet.
				NFPA Requirements
Select One	Department Characteristics	Demographic		Aseembly Staffing		Response Time		Frequency of Time
○	Career	With Aerial		15		8 min		90%
○	Career	Without Aerial		14		8 min		90%
○	Urban Combo/Vol	> 1,000 pop/mi		15		9 min		90%
○	Suburban Combo/Vol	500 – 1,000 pop/mi		10		10 min		80%
○	Rural Combo/Vol	< 500 pop/mi		6		14 min		80%
○	Remote Combo/Vol	Travel > 8 mi		4		n/a		90%
* 6a. In your best estimate, how often did your organization meet the assembly requirements detailed above for structure fires claimed in this application?					○ Never (0%) ○ Sometimes (20 to 40%) ○ Half of the Time (40 to 60%) ○ Most of the Time (60 to 80%) ○ Very Often (80 to 99%) ○ Always (100%)
* 6b. With the additional staffing requested in this application, what percentage of time do you anticipate that your organization will meet the NFPA requirements detailed above?					○ Never (0%) ○ Sometimes (20 to 40%) ○ Half of the Time (40 to 60%) ○ Most of the Time (60 to 80%) ○ Very Often (80 to 99%) ○ Always (100%)
* 7a. Given the number of structure fires indicated in the “Call Volume” box of your application, what is the average actual staffing level on your first arriving engine company or vehicle capable of initiating suppression activities? (Up to one decimal e.g., 2.5)
* 7b. With staffing requested in this application and given the number of structure fires indicated in the “Call Volume” box of your application, what would be the average actual staffing level on your first arriving engine company or vehicle capable of initiating suppression activities? (Up to one decimal e.g., 2.5)
* 8. Is your request for hiring firefighters based on a risk analysis and/or a staffing needs analysis?							○ Yes ○ No
If Yes, describe how the analysis was conducted, attached additional sheet if necessary.
* 9. If awarded a grant for hiring additional firefighters, will you provide them with an entry-level physical in accordance with NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, 2003 Edition, Chapter 6?							○ Yes ○ No
* 10. Does your organization seek, recruit, and hire members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women to increase their ranks within your department? If so, explain in your narrative what efforts your organization has instituted and how successful those efforts have been. If not, explain in your narrative what policies and procedures you will implement to assure that, to the extent possible, you will seek, recruit, and hire minorities and women.							○ Yes ○ No

Add Budget Item

Please provide the following information.

Note: Fields marked with an * are required.

Hiring Budget Item
* How many full-time firefighter positions, including job-shares, are you requesting? (Whole Numbers only) “Full-time" is considered 2,080 hours or more worked per year and entitles the employee to receive benefits earned by the other full-time employees in the organization. “Job-share” is the term used to describe the hiring of more than one person to fill one full-time position. Part-time positions are less than 2,080 hours per year. Often part-time employees do not earn benefits or do not earn them at the same rate or level as full-time employees. The number of personnel that can fill a job-share position is limited to four (4).	Block A
If you are requesting assistance to fund a position that would be “shared” by more than one individual, i.e., for job-share, please indicate how many individuals would fill that position and provide an explanation as to why the position is shared. Attach additional sheets if necessary. Note: The number of individuals that may fill a job-share position is limited to the number of shifts deployed by the applicant. Definitions can be found on page 6.
* What is the anticipated annual starting salary for firefighters in your department? (Whole Numbers only)	$ Block B
* What is the average benefit rate for your department (as calculated as a percentage of the annual salary)?	Block C %
* If awarded, what is your estimate of the average annual increase in salary for these firefighting positions as a result of step increases, cost-of-living adjustments, incentive pay, etc.? Show this figure as a percentage of the annual salary.	Block D %

Please rewrite the answers from the table above into the corresponding blocks below.
Number of Firefighters	Base Salary	Average Cost of Benefits	Annual Projected Increase
Block A	Block B	Block C	Block D

Budget

Hiring of Firefighters:
There is a five-year period of performance for grants awarded under this activity. To maintain continued involvement, we will limit the Federal share in each of the years of the grant. Based on a total funding cap of $105,425 over five years, the maximum annual Federal share of funds that you can receive under SAFER for salary and benefits for newly hired firefighters will not exceed the lesser of the following:

• Year One: 90 percent of the actual costs or $37,950

• Year Two: 80 percent of the actual costs or $33,730

• Year Three: 50 percent of the actual costs or $21,080

• Year Four: 30 percent of the actual costs or $12,665

• Year Five: No Federal share—all costs borne by grantee

The budget for the Hiring of Firefighters Activity reflects the diminishing involvement in the Federal government's share of the costs of the firefighting positions. For more specifics on these limits, please review pages 10 and 11 of the SAFER Program Guidance.

Personnel

Personnel - The costs in this area will cover personnel costs within your department, if they are allowed. (The program narrative should list the employee title, hours x hourly rate.)

Benefits

Fringe Benefits - Fringe benefits in the form of regular compensation paid to employees during periods of authorized absences from the job, such as vacation leave, sick leave, military leave, and the like, are allowable, provided such costs are absorbed by all organization activities in proportion to the relative amount of time or effort actually devoted to each. Fringe benefits in the form of employer contributions or expenses for social security, employee insurance, workmen's compensation insurance, pension plan costs, and the like, are allowable, provided such benefits are granted in accordance with established written organization policies. Such benefits, whether treated as indirect costs or as direct costs, shall be distributed to particular awards and other activities in a manner consistent with the pattern of benefits accruing to the individuals or group of employees whose salaries and wages are chargeable to such awards and other activities.

Budget Matrix

The online application will automatically fill out the Budget Matrix. Paper applicants should use the formulas to fill in the blocks.

Budget Matrix
	First 12-Month Period	Second 12-Month Period	Third 12-Month Period	Fourth 12-Month Period	Fifth 12-Month Period	Total
Personnel	Block A x Block B	1st Year Personnel x Block D	2nd Year Personnel x Block D	3rd Year Personnel x Block D	4th Year Personnel x Block D	Sum of all Personnel blocks
Benefits	1st Year Personnel x Block C	2nd Year Personnel x Block C	3rd Year Personnel x Block C	4th Year Personnel x Block C	5th Year Personnel x Block C	Sum of all Benefits blocks
Total	1st Year Personnel + 1st Year Benefits	2nd Year Personnel + 2nd Year Benefits	3rd Year Personnel + 3rd Year Benefits	4th Year Personnel + 4th Year Benefits	5th Year Personnel + 5th Year Benefits	Sum of all Total blocks to the left
Federal Share	90% 1st Year Total	80% of 2nd Year Total	50% of 3rd Year Total	30% of 4th Year Total	0% of 5th Year Total	Sum of all Federal Share blocks
Applicant Share	10% of 1st Year Total	20% of 2nd Year Total	50% of 3rd Year Total	70% of 4th Year Total	100% of 5th Year Total	Sum of all Applicant Share blocks

Bottom of Form

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Hiring of Firefighters Narrative

Narrative Statement for Hiring of Firefighters

In addition to the elements described below, the Narrative Statement (project description) should clearly explain how all budgeted funds are to be used. If your department is applying for both activities, you have a choice of dividing your narrative into two separate parts and addressing each activity or combining your requests into one narrative statement. If you choose to combine your requests into one narrative, you should be sure to discuss all items required for both the Hiring of Firefighters Activity and the Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters Activity (listed on page 23).

The Narrative Statement (project description) for the Hiring of Firefighters Activity must include the following:

• A statement that describes why the applicant needs the grant funds, i.e., how the newly hired firefighters will be used within the department and a description of the specific benefit these firefighters will provide for the fire department and community. Your description should include whether you are seeking to comply with NFPA 1710 or 1720 as identified in the 2008 SAFER Program Guidance.

• A statement regarding how the community and current firefighters are at risk without the needed firefighters, and to what extent that risk will be reduced if the applicant is awarded.

• An explanation of the applicant’s inability to address the need without Federal assistance.

• A statement relating to how the applicant will ensure, to the extent possible, that they will seek, recruit, and hire members of racial and ethnic minority groups and women to increase their ranks within their department.

• A statement regarding how the applicant plans to meet the match requirements for the five-year performance period should they receive the grant award. This statement should include any long-term plans to retain the new firefighter positions.

• A statement regarding how the applicant plans to meet the requirement to ensure that firefighter positions filled under the SAFER grants are not discriminated against for, or prohibited from, engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours.

Your narrative should be detailed but concise. Your narrative may not exceed six pages of text. Create the text in your word processing system and attach a printout to your application. If possible, provide a floppy disk with an electronic copy of your narrative. Images are not allowed.

Note: Fields marked with an * are required.

Hiring of Firefighters Narrative

* Please attach your narrative statement using no more than six single-spaced pages.

* Please describe any grants that your department has received from DHS including the AFG. For example:
2002 AFG Fire Engine, 2003 UASI Equipment... (Enter "N/A" if Not Applicable).