Welcome to Fire Grant Data
Congress created the FIRE Grant program on October 30, 2000 to bring all fire departments up to a baseline level of readiness. There are currently two grant programs, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency Response Grants (SAFER). These programs provide equipment, training, and apparatus to the fire and emergency medical services organizations that need it the most.
It's important to understand the process. Each fall, around October, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) convenes a group of firefighters to make recommendations for the grant applications judging criteria. After the application solicitation period, which usually runs from late February through early April, DHS brings in panels of firefighters to rank grant applications based on the criteria set the year before.
Fire service participation in setting grant criteria and ranking applications was started by the US Fire Administration (USFA), which originally administered the FIRE Grant programs. Fire service input ensures that grant money goes to address the most pressing needs for departments nationwide. As those needs change, so do the criteria. The involvement of the fire service has proved so beneficial that when Congress reauthorized the FIRE Grant program in 2004, it codified the process for involving the fire service.
