Matching Assistance to Firefighters Grants to the Reported Needs of the U.S. Fire Service

A cooperative study between:
U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)
Directorate for Preparedness
Department of Homeland Security
and
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Authorized by U.S. Public Law 108-767, Title XXXVI

About the Study

As part of the second needs assessment of the U.S. fire service, a rough comparison was made between needs reported in the first needs assessment survey and resources requested and granted to the same fire departments in 2001-2004 under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. This analysis can only be taken as a rough indicator of the match between needs and resources. The analysis may be useful as a basis for directing priorities in a more substantial audit or review, but it should not be used by itself as a basis for drawing conclusions.

Firefighting or EMS Equipment

One-third of the matched awards and one-fourth of the granted funds for those awards went to firefighting equipment.

Overall, there was a 98 percent match for awards and a 97 percent match for award funds to some type of firefighting equipment need for this category. All six types of need showed up with high match percentages, and no one type of need dominated the others.

In the second needs assessment, the percentage of departments where there were not enough portable radios to equip everyone on a shift declined by 13 percentage points (from 77 percent to 64 percent) compared to the first survey.

None of the homeland security related needs (i.e., ability to handle any of four unusually challenging situations with local specialized equipment) showed marked improvement, nor did any of the personnel needs related to those situations. However, there was improvement in the existence of written agreements to coordinate the use of outside personnel and equipment in a response. This is the most important step to take to improve national preparedness. The overall percentage of departments with such written agreements increased by 7 percentage points (from 19 percent to 26 percent) for the reference building collapse scenario, by 9 percentage points (from 21 percent to 30 percent) for the reference biological/chemical agent scenario, by 7 percentage points (from 33 percent to 40 percent) for the reference wildland/urban interface fire scenario, and by 5 percentage points (from 13 percent to 18 percent) for the reference flood scenario.

The continued gap in usage of a universal map reference system (the US National Grid), as documented in FA-303, Four Years Later - A Second Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service is a part of what is missing in most agreements.

Usage of thermal imaging cameras increased (and the need therefore decreased) by 31 percentage points (from 24 percent to 55 percent).

Personal Protective Equipment

More than one-third of the matched awards and granted funds for those awards went to personal protective equipment.

Overall, there was a 68 percent match for awards and a 53 percent match for award funds to some type of need for this category. The needs checked were self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), personal alert safety system (PASS) devices, and personal protective clothing.

Many estimated needs showed lower measures in 2005 than in 2001 in this category. The percentage of departments without enough SCBA to equip all emergency responders on a shift declined by 10 percentage points (from 70 percent to 60 percent). The percentage without enough PASS devices to equip all emergency responders on a shift declined by 14 percentage points (from 62 percent to 48 percent).

Vehicles and Facility Modification

Vehicles (typically engines or pumpers) represented only 8 percent of matched grants but 20 percent of grant funds for matched grants. Facility modification represented only 5 percent of matched grants and 7 percent of grant funds for matched grants.

Overall, there was an 83 percent match for vehicle awards and an 80 percent match for vehicle award funds to some type of need for this category. The sufficiency check, which showed a high need for all communities in the Needs Assessment report, accounted for most of the matching for vehicle grants.

None of the needs related to vehicles showed substantial improvement in the second needs assessment survey, and this was true for the age profile of the fleet, regardless of where the cut-off was set.

Overall, there was a 73 percent match for facility modification awards and a 70 percent match for facility modification award funds to the only type of need included in the survey for this category, namely, exhaust emission control. However, the percentage of stations not equipped for exhaust emission control did not change much, and the change varied considerably by size of community.

Training

Only 9 percent of the matched awards and only 4 percent of the granted funds for those awards went to training. This illustrates the general point that grants were sought and awarded far more for objects than for knowledge and skills. Training represented a larger share of awards and funds for larger communities than for smaller communities.

Overall, there was an 88 percent match for awards and an 80 percent match for award funds to some type of training need for this category.

Wellness and Fitness Programs

Only 4 percent of the matched awards and only 4 percent of the granted funds for those awards went to wellness and fitness programs.

Overall, there was a 64 percent match for awards and a 62 percent match for award funds to the need defined by not having any program of this type.

Prevention

Only 3 percent of the matched awards and only 2 percent of the granted funds for those awards went to prevention programs. This excludes the dedicated funds for national organizations and their prevention programs.

No matching with need was attempted for this category, because "prevention" covers such a broad and heterogeneous collection of programs, and the needs assessment responses are so broad and general in this area.

Prevention program usage improved in every category except arguably the two most important ones - public fire safety school education programs based on a national model and conducting fire-code inspections. The size of the population protected by departments with no plans review declined by 6 percentage points (from 29 percent to 23 percent), with no permit approval by 5 percentage points (from 45 percent to 40 percent), with no routine testing of active systems by 5 percentage points (from 49 percent to 44 percent), with no free smoke alarm distribution program by 7 percentage points (from 42 percent to 35 percent), and with no juvenile firesetter programs by 7 percentage points (from 48 percent to 41 percent).