SAFER Update! Get Ready to Apply for SAFER Funding

September 14, 2009 – Guidance for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants for FY 2009 and FY 2010 will be issued in early October and the grant application period will begin in November and remain open for 30 days. Once the application period ends, the peer review process will begin immediately.

There is a combined total of $630 million in the FY 2009/2010 SAFER budget.

The IAFF was successful in lobbying Congress and the Obama administration to approve the proposal to allow the use of federal funding through the SAFER grant program to rehire laid-off fire fighters and prevent reductions in force specifically related to this economic downturn.

In July, the IAFF and other fire service organizations participated in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/FEMA Grant Criteria Summit in Emmitsburg, Maryland, to recommend new rules for awarding SAFER grants. During this process, all major fire service organizations agreed that the priority of SAFER awards should:

• Bring laid-off fire fighters back to work
• Stave off future layoffs
• Restore cuts in services

Since the summit, DHS/FEMA has been preparing the technical and legal details that must be in place to implement these recommendations and guidance.

The IAFF strongly urges affiliates to work with their fire departments and local decision-makers to be ready to submit applications as soon as the application period begins.