PHOTO BY MT. VIEW VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY Training Officer Peter Tebeau of Malone, N.Y., setting up for attack on fully involved residential structure fire wearing new AFG funded PPE.

It's proved a lifeline for fire departments across the country for the past six years.

Thousands of departments have benefited from the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program since its launch in 2001.

Now, as fire chiefs eagerly await the launch of the application period for 2007, a select group is gearing up for the toughest task of all – deciding who gets the cash.

Every year, 300 people are recruited from across the United States to sit on application panels over a three-week period at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Each group stays for seven days, but it's no holiday. Grant administrators receive about 20,000 applications on average every year. However, of the 20,000 applications submitted, approximately half reach the panelist stage.

"As an applicant fills out the grant request, they are asked questions about the fire department, and about the activities or purchases they want funded," AFG Director Brian Cowan said. "The answers to those questions tell us specifically how closely the request matches up with established funding priorities."

But, it still means panelists have to get through up to 30 applications a day.

The panels are made up of fire service members who come recommended by organizations such as the IAFC and the IAFF.

Jeff Cash is among those who have responded to the call. Cash has been chief of the City of Cherryville Fire Department for the past 20 years and has sat on a panel three times. 

"We fly up on the Sunday, then on Monday morning you go through a training session, and then you start going through the applications," he said. "Obviously there are always more requests than there is money and it can be pretty tedious as you're spending so much time reading. But it's very rewarding as you're helping departments get the apparatus and equipment they need."

"It's interesting, too," said Cash, "as you can tell which parts of the country are blessed with equipment and which aren't by the applications that you see. But it's a fantastic program and something that the fire service is so appreciative of, and it's an honor to be able to help in the process."

The process goes something like this:

At least three of the panelists independently score each application and discuss its merits and shortcomings.

PHOTO BY CITY OF BIWABIK FIRE DEPARTMENT AFG grants supplied the Biwabik, Minn., Fire Department with the SCBAs, personal protective equipment, and CAFS fast attack vehicle shown here. From left to right, are Captain Jim Licari, Assistant Chief Craig Maki, Captain/Training Officer Randy Shackelton, Secretary Scott Dane, and Chief Dan Berg.

The final score of the application is worked out by adding together the marks of the panelists, before dividing the figure by the number of panelists.

Applications with the highest scores are re-checked by technical and financial experts for any discrepancies.

Only then can applications be approved.

The process continues, working down the highest scoring applications until the grant money on offer runs out.  

Cowan admitted having to judge peers' submissions is sometimes tough for the panelists.

"I think it can be an arduous task," he said. "In terms of the job they do, on a scale of a one to 10 difficulty rating, it's probably an eight or a nine. The only reason it's not a 10 is because in many cases it's a labor of love for them, though it's still a very hard job. But it's something they want to do."