15 U.s.c. 2229

Page 1589

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(g) Reports to Congress
(1) Within 3 years after October 26, 1992, and
every 3 years thereafter, the Administrator of
General Services shall transmit to Congress a
report on the level of fire safety in Federal employee office buildings subject to fire safety requirements under this section. Such report shall
contain a description of such buildings for each
Federal agency.
(2) Within 10 years after October 26, 1992, each
Federal agency providing housing to Federal
employees or housing assistance shall submit a
report to Congress on the progress of that agency in implementing subsection (c) of this section
and on plans for continuing such implementation.
(3)(A) The National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall conduct a study and submit a
report to Congress on the use, in combination, of
fire detection systems, fire suppression systems,
and compartmentation. Such study shall—
(i) quantify performance and reliability for
fire detection systems, fire suppression systems, and compartmentation, including a field
assessment of performance and determination
of conditions under which a reduction or
elimination of 1 or more of those systems
would result in an unacceptable risk of fire
loss; and
(ii) include a comparative analysis and
compartmentation using fire resistive materials and compartmentation using noncombustible materials.
(B) The National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall obtain funding from non-Federal sources in an amount equal to 25 percent of
the cost of the study required by subparagraph
(A). Funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology for carrying out such study
shall be derived from amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated, for the Building and
Fire Research Center at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology, not to exceed
$750,000. The study shall commence until receipt
of all matching funds from non-Federal sources.
The scope and extent of the study shall be determined by the level of project funding. The Institute shall submit a report to Congress on the
study within 30 months after October 26, 1992.
(h) Relation to other requirements
In the implementation of this section, the
process for meeting space needs in urban areas
shall continue to give first consideration to a
centralized community business area and adjacent areas of similar character to the extent of
any Federal requirement therefor.
(Pub. L. 93–498, § 31, as added Pub. L. 102–522,
title I, § 106(a), Oct. 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 3412;
amended Pub. L. 103–254, § 6, May 19, 1994, 108
Stat. 682; Pub. L. 104–316, title I, § 107, Oct. 19,
1996, 110 Stat. 3832; Pub. L. 105–108, § 3(4), (5),
Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2264.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The National Housing Act, referred to in subsec.
(a)(5)(B), is act June 27, 1934, ch. 847, 48 Stat. 1246, as
amended, which is classified principally to chapter 13
(§ 1701 et seq.) of Title 12, Banks and Banking. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see References in Text note set out under section 1701 of Title
12 and Tables.

Section 1441a(c) of title 12, referred to in subsec.
(a)(5)(B), was repealed by Pub. L. 111–203, title III,
§ 364(b), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1555.
AMENDMENTS
1997—Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(i). Pub. L. 105–108, § 3(4), inserted ‘‘or any successor standard to that standard’’
after ‘‘(known as the Life Safety Code)’’.
Subsec. (c)(2)(B)(ii). Pub. L. 105–108, § 3(5), inserted ‘‘or
any successor standard to that standard’’ after ‘‘Association Standard 101’’.
1996—Subsec. (b)(1)(B)(iii). Pub. L. 104–316 struck out
cl. (iii) which read as follows: ‘‘Within 3 years after October 26, 1992, and periodically thereafter, the Comptroller General shall audit a selection of certifications
made under clause (ii) and report to Congress on the results of such audit.’’
1994—Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 103–254, § 6(1), substituted ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, no Federal’’ for ‘‘No Federal’’.
Subsec. (c)(1)(C), (D). Pub. L. 103–254, § 6(2), added subpars. (C) and (D).
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section 106(b) of Pub. L. 102–522 provided that: ‘‘Subsection (b) of section 31 of the Federal Fire Prevention
and Control Act of 1974 [15 U.S.C. 2227], as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall take effect 2 years after
the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 1992].’’
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including
the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1)
of Title 6, Domestic Security.
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto,
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and
sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set
out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§ 2228. CPR training
No funds shall be made available to a State or
local government under section 2221 of this title
unless such government has a policy to actively
promote the training of its firefighters in
cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
(Pub. L. 93–498, § 32, as added Pub. L. 103–254, § 5,
May 19, 1994, 108 Stat. 682.)
§ 2229. Firefighter assistance
(a) Definition of firefighting personnel
In this section, the term ‘‘firefighting personnel’’ means individuals, including volunteers,
who are firefighters, officers of fire departments,
or emergency medical service personnel of fire
departments.
(b) Assistance program
(1) Authority
In accordance with this section, the Director
may—
(A) make grants on a competitive basis directly to fire departments of a State, in consultation with the chief executive of the
State, for the purpose of protecting the

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health and safety of the public and firefighting personnel throughout the Nation against
fire and fire-related hazards;
(B) provide assistance for fire prevention
and firefighter safety research and development programs in accordance with paragraph (4); and
(C) provide assistance for nonaffiliated
EMS organizations for the purpose of paragraph (3)(F).
(2) Administrative assistance
The Director shall establish specific criteria
for the selection of recipients of assistance
under this section and shall provide grantwriting assistance to applicants.
(3) Use of fire department grant funds
The Director may make a grant under paragraph (1)(A) only if the applicant for the grant
agrees to use the grant funds for one or more
of the following purposes:
(A) To hire additional firefighting personnel.
(B) To train firefighting personnel in firefighting, emergency response (including response to a terrorism incident or use of a
weapon of mass destruction), arson prevention and detection, maritime firefighting, or
the handling of hazardous materials, or to
train firefighting personnel to provide any of
the training described in this subparagraph.
(C) To fund the creation of rapid intervention teams to protect firefighting personnel
at the scenes of fires and other emergencies.
(D) To certify fire inspectors.
(E) To establish wellness and fitness programs for firefighting personnel to ensure
that the firefighting personnel can carry out
their duties.
(F) To fund emergency medical services
provided by fire departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations.
(G) To acquire additional firefighting vehicles, including fire trucks.
(H) To acquire additional firefighting
equipment, including equipment for fighting
fires with foam in remote areas without access to water, and equipment for communications, monitoring, and response to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of mass
destruction.
(I) To acquire personal protective equipment required for firefighting personnel by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other personal protective
equipment for firefighting personnel, including protective equipment to respond to a
terrorism incident or the use of a weapon of
mass destruction.
(J) To modify fire stations, fire training
facilities, and other facilities to protect the
health and safety of firefighting personnel.
(K) To enforce fire codes.
(L) To fund fire prevention programs.
(M) To educate the public about arson prevention and detection.
(N) To provide incentives for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighting
personnel for volunteer firefighting departments and other firefighting departments
that utilize volunteers.

Page 1590

(4) Fire prevention and firefighter safety research and development programs
(A) In general
For each fiscal year, the Director shall use
not less than 5 percent of the funds made
available under subsection (e) of this section—
(i) to make grants to fire departments
for the purpose described in paragraph
(3)(L); and
(ii) to make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, national, State, local, or community organizations that are not fire departments and
that are recognized for their experience
and expertise with respect to fire prevention or fire safety programs and activities,
and firefighter research and development
programs, for the purpose of carrying out
fire prevention programs and research to
improve firefighter health and life safety.
(B) Priority
In selecting organizations described in
subparagraph (A)(ii) to receive assistance
under this paragraph, the Director shall give
priority to organizations that focus on prevention of injuries to high risk groups from
fire, as well as research programs that demonstrate the potential to improve firefighter
safety.
(C) Grant limitation
A grant under this paragraph shall not be
greater than $1,000,000 for a fiscal year.
(5) Application
The Director may provide assistance to a
fire department or organization under this
subsection only if the fire department or organization seeking the assistance submits to the
Director an application that meets the following requirements:
(A) Form
The application shall be in such form as
the Director may require.
(B) Information
The application shall include the following
information:
(i) Financial need
Information that demonstrates the financial need of the applicant for the assistance for which applied.
(ii) Cost-benefit analysis
An analysis of the costs and benefits,
with respect to public safety, of the use of
the assistance.
(iii) Reporting systems data
An agreement to provide information to
the national fire incident reporting system
for the period covered by the assistance.
(iv) Other Federal support
A list of other sources of Federal funding
received by the applicant. The Director, in
coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall use such list to prevent unnecessary duplication of grant
funds.

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(v) Other information
Any other information that the Director
may require.
(6) Matching requirement
(A) In general
Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the
Director may provide assistance under this
subsection only if the applicant for such assistance agrees to match 20 percent of such
assistance for any fiscal year with an equal
amount of non-Federal funds.
(B) Requirement for small community organizations
In the case of an applicant whose personnel—
(i) serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or fewer
residents, the percent applied under the
matching requirement of subparagraph (A)
shall be 10 percent; and
(ii) serve jurisdictions of 20,000 or fewer
residents, the percent applied under the
matching requirement of subparagraph (A)
shall be 5 percent.
(C) Fire prevention and firefighter safety
grants
There shall be no matching requirement
for a grant described in paragraph (4)(A)(ii).
(7) Maintenance of expenditures
The Director may provide assistance under
this subsection only if the applicant for the
assistance agrees to maintain in the fiscal
year for which the assistance will be received
the applicant’s aggregate expenditures for the
uses described in paragraph (3) or (4) at or
above the average level of such expenditures
in the two fiscal years preceding the fiscal
year for which the assistance will be received.
(8) Report to the Director
The Director may provide assistance under
this subsection only if the applicant for the
assistance agrees to submit to the Director a
report, including a description of how the assistance was used, with respect to each fiscal
year for which the assistance was received.
(9) Variety of fire department grant recipients
The Director shall ensure that grants under
paragraph (1)(A) for a fiscal year are made to
a variety of fire departments, including, to the
extent that there are eligible applicants—
(A) paid, volunteer, and combination fire
departments;
(B) fire departments located in communities of varying sizes; and
(C) fire departments located in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
(10) Grant limitations
(A) Recipient limitations
A grant recipient under subsection
(b)(1)(A) of this section—
(i) that serves a jurisdiction with 500,000
people or less may not receive grants in
excess of $1,000,000 for any fiscal year;
(ii) that serves a jurisdiction with more
than 500,000 but not more than 1,000,000
people may not receive grants in excess of
$1,750,000 for any fiscal year; and

§ 2229

(iii) that serves a jurisdiction with more
than 1,000,000 people may not receive
grants in excess of $2,750,000 for any fiscal
year.
The Director may award grants in excess of
the limitations provided in clause 1 (i) and
(ii) if the Director determines that extraordinary need for assistance by a jurisdiction
warrants a waiver.
(B) Distribution
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), no single recipient may receive more than the
lesser of $2,750,000 or one half of one percent
of the funds appropriated under this section
for a single fiscal year.
(C) Limitation on expenditures for firefighting vehicles
Not more than 25 percent of the funds appropriated to provide grants under this section for a fiscal year may be used to assist
grant recipients to purchase vehicles, as authorized by paragraph (3)(G).
(D) Requirements for grants for emergency
medical services
Subject to the restrictions in subparagraph (E), not less than 3.5 percent of the
funds appropriated under this section for a
fiscal year shall be awarded for purposes described in paragraph (3)(F).
(E) Nonaffiliated EMS limitation
Not more than 2 percent of the funds appropriated to provide grants under this section for a fiscal year shall be awarded to
nonaffiliated EMS organizations.
(F) Application of selection criteria to grant
applications from nonaffiliated EMS organizations
In reviewing applications submitted by
nonaffiliated EMS organizations, the Director shall consider the extent to which other
sources of Federal funding are available to
provide assistance requested in such grant
applications.
(11) Reservation of grant funds for volunteer
departments
In making grants to firefighting departments, the Director shall ensure that those
firefighting departments that have either allvolunteer forces of firefighting personnel or
combined forces of volunteer and professional
firefighting personnel receive a proportion of
the total grant funding that is not less than
the proportion of the United States population
that those firefighting departments protect.
(12) Eligible grantee on behalf of Alaska Native
villages
The Alaska Village Initiatives, a non-profit
organization incorporated in the State of
Alaska, shall be considered an eligible grantee
for purposes of receiving assistance under this
section on behalf of Alaska Native villages.
(13) Annual meeting
The Director shall convene an annual meeting of individuals who are members of na1 So

in original. Probably should be ‘‘clauses’’.

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Page 1592

tional fire service organizations and are recognized for expertise in firefighting or emergency medical services provided by fire services, and who are not employees of the Federal
Government, for the purpose of recommending
criteria for awarding grants under this section
for the next fiscal year and recommending any
necessary administrative changes to the grant
program.
(14) Guidelines
(A) Each year, prior to making any grants
under this section, the Director shall publish
in the Federal Register—
(i) guidelines that describe the process for
applying for grants and the criteria for
awarding grants; and
(ii) an explanation of any differences between the guidelines and the recommendations made pursuant to paragraph (13).

(e) Authorization of appropriations
(1) In general
There are authorized to be appropriated for
the purposes of this section $900,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $950,000,000 for fiscal year 2006,
and $1,000,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2007 through 2009. Of the amounts authorized
in this paragraph, $3,000,000 shall be made
available each year through fiscal year 2008 for
foam firefighting equipment.
(2) Administrative expenses
Of the funds appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Director may
use not more than three percent of the funds
to cover salaries and expenses and other administrative costs incurred by the Director to
make grants and provide assistance under this
section.

(B) The criteria for awarding grants under
subsection (b)(1)(A) of this section shall include the extent to which the grant would enhance the daily operations of the applicant
and the impact of such a grant on the protection of lives and property.
(15) Peer review
The Director shall, after consultation with
national fire service organizations, appoint
fire service personnel to conduct peer review
of applications received under paragraph (5).
In making grants under this section, the Director shall consider the results of such peer
review evaluations.
(16) Applicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act
The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to activities under
paragraphs (13) and (15).
(17) Accounting determination
Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
rule, regulation, or guidance, for purposes of
receiving assistance under this section, equipment costs shall include, but not be limited
to, all costs attributable to any design, purchase of components, assembly, manufacture,
and transportation of equipment not otherwise
commercially available.
(c) Audits
A recipient of a grant under this section shall
be subject to audits to ensure that the grant
proceeds are expended for the intended purposes
and that the grant recipient complies with the
requirements of paragraphs (6) and (7) of subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Definitions
In this section—
(1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director,
acting through the Administrator;
(2) the term ‘‘nonaffiliated EMS organization’’ means a public or private nonprofit
emergency medical services organization that
is not affiliated with a hospital and does not
serve a geographic area in which the Director
finds that emergency medical services are adequately provided by a fire department; and
(3) the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of
Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico.

(Pub. L. 93–498, § 33, as added Pub. L. 106–398, § 1
[[div. A], title XVII, § 1701(a)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114
Stat. 1654, 1654A–360; amended Pub. L. 107–107,
div. A, title X, § 1061, Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1231;
Pub. L. 108–7, div. K, title IV, § 421, Feb. 20, 2003,
117 Stat. 526; Pub. L. 108–169, title II, § 205, Dec.
6, 2003, 117 Stat. 2040; Pub. L. 108–375, div. C, title
XXXVI, § 3602, Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 2195.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in
subsec. (b)(16), is Pub. L. 92–463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770,
as amended, which is set out in the Appendix to Title
5, Government Organization and Employees.
CODIFICATION
Another section 33 of Pub. L. 93–498 was renumbered
section 35 and is classified to section 2230 of this title.
AMENDMENTS
2004—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(1), inserted ‘‘throughout the Nation’’ after ‘‘personnel’’ and
struck out ‘‘and’’ at end.
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(2), inserted
‘‘and firefighter safety research and development’’
after ‘‘fire prevention’’ and substituted ‘‘; and’’ for period at end.
Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(3), added subpar. (C).
Subsec. (b)(3)(F). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(4), inserted
‘‘and nonaffiliated EMS organizations’’ after ‘‘fire departments’’.
Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(5)(A), inserted
‘‘and firefighter safety research and development’’
after ‘‘prevention’’ in heading.
Subsec. (b)(4)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(5)(B), inserted ‘‘that are not fire departments and’’ after ‘‘community organizations’’, ‘‘and firefighter research and
development programs,’’ after ‘‘fire safety programs
and activities,’’, and ‘‘and research to improve firefighter health and life safety’’ after ‘‘fire prevention
programs’’.
Subsec. (b)(4)(B). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(5)(C), substituted ‘‘to high risk groups from fire, as well as research programs that demonstrate the potential to improve firefighter safety’’ for ‘‘to children from fire’’.
Subsec. (b)(4)(C). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(5)(D), added
subpar. (C).
Subsec. (b)(5)(B)(iv), (v). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(6),
added cl. (iv) and redesignated former cl. (iv) as (v).
Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(7), added subpars.
(A) to (C) and struck out former subpars. (A) and (B)
which read as follows:
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Director may provide assistance under this subsection
only if the applicant for the assistance agrees to match

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with an equal amount of non-Federal funds 30 percent
of the assistance received under this subsection for any
fiscal year.
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an applicant whose personnel
serve jurisdictions of 50,000 or fewer residents, the percent applied under the matching requirement of subparagraph (A) shall be 10 percent.’’
Subsec. (b)(10)(A). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(8)(A), amended heading and text of subpar. (A) generally. Prior to
amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘A grant recipient
under this section may not receive more than $750,000
under this section for any fiscal year.’’
Subsec.
(b)(10)(B)
to
(F).
Pub.
L.
108–375,
§ 3602(8)(B)–(D), redesignated subpar. (B) as (C) and
added new subpars. (B) and (D) to (F).
Subsec. (b)(13) to (17). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(9), added
pars. (13) to (17).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(10), amended heading and text of subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘In this section, the term
‘State’ includes the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’
Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 108–375, § 3602(11), substituted
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this section $900,000,000 for fiscal year 2005,
$950,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $1,000,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2009.’’ for ‘‘There
are authorized to be appropriated $900,000,000 for each
of the fiscal years 2002 through 2004 for the purposes of
this section.’’
2003—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(a)(1), added
par. (2) and struck out heading and text of former par.
(2). Text read as follows:
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Before providing assistance
under paragraph (1), the Director shall establish an office in the Federal Emergency Management Agency to
administer the assistance under this section.
‘‘(B) INCLUDED DUTIES.—The duties of the office shall
include the following:
‘‘(i) RECIPIENT SELECTION CRITERIA.—To establish
specific criteria for the selection of recipients of the
assistance under this section.
‘‘(ii) GRANT-WRITING ASSISTANCE.—To provide grantwriting assistance to applicants.’’
Subsec. (b)(3)(B). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(b), inserted
‘‘maritime firefighting,’’ after ‘‘arson prevention and
detection,’’.
Subsec. (b)(3)(H). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(c)(1), inserted
‘‘equipment for fighting fires with foam in remote
areas without access to water, and’’ after ‘‘including’’.
Subsec. (b)(12). Pub. L. 108–7 added par. (12).
Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(c)(2), inserted at
end ‘‘Of the amounts authorized in this paragraph,
$3,000,000 shall be made available each year through fiscal year 2008 for foam firefighting equipment.’’
Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 108–169, § 205(a)(2), struck out
‘‘operate the office established under subsection (b)(2)
of this section and’’ before ‘‘make grants and provide
assistance under this section.’’
2001—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 107–107, § 1061(b), (c), substituted ‘‘the grant funds for one or more of the following purposes:’’ for ‘‘the grant funds—’’ in introductory
provisions, capitalized the initial letter of the first
word of each of subpars. (A) to (N), substituted a period
for the semicolon at end of each of subpars. (A) to (L)
and a period for ‘‘; or’’ at end of subpar. (M), inserted
‘‘(including response to a terrorism incident or use of a
weapon of mass destruction)’’ after ‘‘emergency response’’ in subpar. (B), substituted ‘‘, monitoring, and
response to a terrorism incident or use of a weapon of
mass destruction’’ for ‘‘and monitoring’’ in subpar. (H),
and inserted ‘‘, including protective equipment to respond to a terrorism incident or the use of a weapon of
mass destruction’’ after ‘‘equipment for firefighting
personnel’’ in subpar. (I).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107–107, § 1061(a), reenacted heading without change and amended text generally. Prior
to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this section
amounts as follows:

§ 2229a

‘‘(1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.
‘‘(2) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.’’
TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS
For transfer of all functions, personnel, assets, components, authorities, grant programs, and liabilities of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including
the functions of the Under Secretary for Federal Emergency Management relating thereto, to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, see section 315(a)(1)
of Title 6, Domestic Security.
For transfer of functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the functions of the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relating thereto,
to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see former section 313(1) and
sections 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set
out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

§ 2229a. Expansion of pre-September 11, 2001,
fire grant program
(a) Expanded authority to make grants
(1) Hiring grants
(A) The Administrator shall make grants directly to career, volunteer, and combination
fire departments, in consultation with the
chief executive of the State in which the applicant is located, 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
Department of Homeland Security.
(B)(i) Grants made under this paragraph
shall be for 4 years and be used for programs
to hire new, additional firefighters.
(ii) Grantees are required to commit to retaining for at least 1 year beyond the termination of their grants those firefighters hired
under this paragraph.
(C) In awarding grants under this subsection,
the Administrator may give preferential consideration to applications that involve a nonFederal contribution exceeding the minimums
under subparagraph (E).
(D) The Administrator may provide technical assistance to States, units of local government, Indian tribal governments, and to
other public entities, in furtherance of the
purposes of this section.
(E) The portion of the costs of hiring firefighters provided by a grant under this paragraph may not exceed—
(i) 90 percent in the first year of the grant;
(ii) 80 percent in the second year of the
grant;
(iii) 50 percent in the third year of the
grant; and
(iv) 30 percent in the fourth year of the
grant.
(F) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any firefighter hired with funds provided
under this subsection shall not be discriminated against for, or be prohibited from, engaging in volunteer activities in another jurisdiction during off-duty hours.
(G) All grants made pursuant to this subsection shall be awarded on a competitive
basis through a neutral peer review process.