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FEMA releases Assistance to Firefighters Grant application dates

The application period will open Oct. 11. See the changes that have been made to this year’s AFG.

By FireRescue1 Staff

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that the 2016 Assistance to Firefighters Grant application period will open Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Since 2001, AFG has funded firefighter and other first-responder equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

The application period will remain open until Friday, Nov. 18.

You can find the official Notice of Funding Opportunity here, which outlines a number of changes that have been made to this year’s AFG. A partial list of changes can be found below:

Wellness and Fitness Micro Grants
Priority 1 wellness and fitness activities are now eligible when applying for a Micro Grant.

Change to Complete Set of PPE Definition
AFG will now consider a complete set of PPE to include 2 sets of gloves and 2 hoods.

Equipment Product Lifecycles
Equipment will now be scored using an additional variable of “Age Category.” Equipment is assigned an age category of Short (5-7 years), Medium (8-14 years), or Long (15-20 years).

These age categories are used to compare similar types of equipment. Under this system, an item that should have a useful life of 10 years is only competing against other items that have a comparable life cycle.An application does not score higher or lower based on the product lifecycle of an item. It only serves to ensure a more even scoring of equipment based on type.

Tow Vehicles
Tow vehicles are now listed under a separate chart in the equipment section to clarify the priority levels between application types.

Download our exclusive and free 2016 AFG Resource Guide for all the information you need to ace this year’s AFG.

This definitive guide will help your department avoid common AFG eligibility mistakes, improve your team’s narrative, and ace each component of the AFG application.

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