Funding Alternatives for Emergency Medical Services and Fire Departments

Supported by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Health Affairs, USFA partnered with the International Fire Services Training Association (IFSTA) to update and revise the December 1999 edition of Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services in order to provide the most up to date information regarding sources of funding for local-level EMS and fire departments.

A key part of this project initiative was an enhanced study of critical funding issues for EMS, both fire and non-fire service based.

EMS and fire departments require funding for expenses such as equipment, training, and salaries in order to provide necessary protection to their respective communities. However, with tighter budgets, less government subsidies, and fewer donations, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for fire and emergency services departments to meet greater and more complex demands for its services.

To meet this critical need and serve its constituents regarding effective methods for obtaining funding, USFA developed the publication Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services in 1993 and completed an update and revision of this document in 1999. This has been one of the USFA's most popular publications with thousands of copies being distributed and downloaded from the USFA website.

However, there have been many recent changes in the availability of Federal funding for fire departments, including the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act, the Staffing for Adequate Emergency Response (SAFER) Act grant program(s), as well as other important grant programs. The latest edition includes sources of Federal funding as well as other new and innovative funding sources not discussed in previous editions.