Order Code RS21302
Updated March 15, 2007
Assistance to Firefighters Program
Lennard G. Kruger
Specialist in Science and Technology
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, also known as the FIRE Act
grant program, was established by Title XVII of the FY2001 National Defense
Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398). The program provides federal grants directly to local
fire departments and unaffiliated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organizations to
help address a variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related and EMS
needs. A related program is the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response
Firefighters (SAFER) program, which provides grants for hiring, recruiting, and
retaining firefighters. The FY2007 Department of Homeland Security appropriations
bill (P.L. 109-295) provided $547 million for fire grants and $115 million for SAFER.
P.L. 109-295 also transferred fire and SAFER grants back to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA). The Administration is proposing $300 million for fire
grants in FY2008, a 45% cut from the FY2007 level. No funding is proposed for SAFER
grants. The total request for Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) is 55% below the
FY2007 level for fire and SAFER grants combined. A primary issue in the 110th
Congress is how appropriations for fire grants in FY2008 and FY2009 should compare
with the authorized levels of $1 billion for those years. This report will be updated as
events warrant.
Background
Firefighting activities are traditionally the responsibility of states and local
communities. As such, funding for firefighters is provided mostly by state and local
governments. During the 1990s, shortfalls in state and local budgets, coupled with
increased responsibilities (i.e., counterterrorism) of local fire departments, led many in
the fire community to call for additional financial support from the federal government.
While federally funded training programs existed (and continue to exist) through USFA’s
National Fire Academy, and while federal money has been available to first responders
for counterterrorism training and equipment through the Department of Justice,1 there did
1 For a list of federal programs providing assistance to state and local first responders, see CRS
Report RL32348, Selected Federal Homeland Security Assistance Programs: A Summary, by
(continued...)

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not exist a dedicated program, exclusively for firefighters, which provided federal money
directly to local fire departments to help address a wide variety of equipment, training,
and other firefighter-related needs.
Authorizations: The FIRE Act and the SAFER Act
During the 106th Congress, many in the fire community asserted that local fire
departments require and deserve greater support from the federal government. In
response, H.R. 1168, the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act,
was introduced on March 17, 1999, by Representative Pascrell. The bill authorized the
Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “to make grants to fire
departments for the purpose of protecting the public and firefighting personnel against fire
and fire-related hazards.” In the Senate, the FIRE Act was introduced by Senator Dodd
(S. 1941) and Senator Campbell (S. 1899). Ultimately, FIRE Act language was agreed
to in the Senate by unanimous consent as an amendment offered by Senator Dodd to the
FY2001 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398, signed into law on October
30, 2000).
Title XVII of P.L. 106-398 amended the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act
(P.L. 93-498)2 to establish a new office in FEMA to administer grants to fire departments
and fire prevention organizations for a variety of purposes, including hiring and training
personnel, prevention programs, equipment and facilities, and public education. The law
stipulated that volunteer departments receive a proportion of the total grant funding that
is not less than the proportion of the U.S. population that those departments protect.
Meanwhile, FEMA was directed to conduct an 18-month study (in conjunction with the
National Fire Protection Association) on the need for federal assistance to state and local
communities to fund firefighting and emergency response activities. The study, entitled,
A Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service, was released in January 2003 and found that
many fire departments — particularly volunteer companies in rural communities — report
shortfalls in facilities, equipment, and training of personnel.
For firefighter assistance, P.L. 106-398 authorized $100 million for FY2001 and
$300 million for FY2002. However, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Senate amended the FY2002
Department of Defense Authorization Act (S. 1438) to include language providing
increased authorization levels for the Assistance to Firefighters Program. An additional
increase was inserted during the House-Senate conference on the defense authorization
bill, authorizing the program at $900 million per year through FY2004, and expanding the
scope of the grants to include equipment and training to help firefighters respond to a
terrorist attack or an attack using weapons of mass destruction. The bill was signed into
law (P.L. 107-107) on December 28, 2001.
With the authorization of the fire grant program expiring on September 30, 2004, the
108th Congress took up fire act reauthorization legislation. On April 1, 2004,
1 (...continued)
Shawn Reese.
2 “Firefighter assistance” is codified as section 33 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act
of 1974 (15 USC 2229).

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Representative Boehlert introduced H.R. 4107 — the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Reauthorization Act of 2004. H.R. 4107 sought to extend the authorization through
FY2007. The USFA Administrator was specifically designated as the entity who shall
administer the program. Additionally, H.R. 4107 sought to increase the current award
caps for grant recipients, while reducing required cost-sharing nonfederal matches. Of
perhaps greatest controversy was a provision which would prohibit grant recipients from
discriminating against or prohibiting firefighters from engaging in volunteer firefighting
activities in other jurisdictions during off-duty hours. The House Committee on Science
held a hearing on H.R. 4107 on May 12, 2004.
On May 11, 2004, the Senate version of the fire grant reauthorization was introduced
by Senator Dodd. S. 2411, the Assistance to Firefighters Act of 2004, sought to authorize
the fire grant program through FY2010 and designate the Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security as the program’s administering authority. The Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on S. 2411 on July 8, 2004. Unlike
the House bill, S. 2411 did not contain a provision on volunteer firefighter discrimination.
On June 17, 2004, the text of S. 2411 was adopted as an amendment (offered by Senator
Dodd) to the FY2005 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2400, Division D, Sections
4001-4013). On June 23, 2004, S. 2400 was passed by the Senate and incorporated into
the House Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 4200).
On October 9, 2004, the House and Senate approved the Conference Agreement on
H.R. 4200 (H.Rept. 108-767). Title XXXVI of H.R. 4200 (Assistance to Firefighters
Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2004) reauthorized the fire grant program at $900
million for FY2005, $950 million for FY2006, and $1 billion for each of the fiscal years
2007 through 2009. Award caps were raised, nonfederal matching requirements were
lowered, eligibility was extended to include nonaffiliated emergency medical services (i.e.
ambulance services not affiliated with fire departments), and the scope of grants was
expanded to include firefighter safety R&D.3 H.R. 4200 did not contain the provision on
volunteer firefighter discrimination. The reauthorization legislation designated the USFA
Administrator as the administering authority of the fire grant program. H.R. 4200 was
signed into law (P.L. 108-375) on October 28, 2004. Section 3603 of P.L. 108-375
directed USFA, in conjunction with the National Fire Protection Association, to assess
the needs and capacity of fire departments and to measure the impact of the fire grant
program in meeting the needs of the fire service. In October 2006, the USFA released two
studies addressing these issues.4
A related issue is the role of the federal government in assisting fire departments to
hire personnel. In the 108th Congress, Congress enacted the Staffing for Adequate Fire
and Emergency Response Firefighters (SAFER) Act as Section 1057 of the FY2004
3 For more details on the reauthorization of the fire grant program, see CRS Report RL32341,
Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding, by Lennard G. Kruger.
4 See U.S. Fire Administration, Four Years Later – A Second Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire
S e r v i c e , F A - 3 0 3 , O c t o b e r 2 0 0 6 , 1 5 9 p . A v a i l a b l e a t
[http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-303-508.pdf]. Also see U.S. Fire
Administration, Matching Assistance to Firefighters Grants to the Reported Needs of the U.S.
F i r e S e r v i c e , F A - 3 0 4 , O c t o b e r 2 0 0 6 , 4 0 p . A v a i l a b l e a t
[http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-304-508.pdf].

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National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 108-136). The SAFER Act authorizes federal
grants of over $1 billion per year through 2010 directly to fire departments for the hiring
of firefighters and recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.5
Appropriations
From FY2001 through FY2003, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program
(as part of USFA/FEMA) received its primary appropriation through the VA-HUD-
Independent Agencies Appropriation Act. In FY2004, the Assistance to Firefighters
Program began to receive its annual appropriation through the House and Senate
Appropriations Subcommittees on Homeland Security. The program received an
appropriation of $100 million in FY2001 (its initial year), $360 million in FY2002, $745
million in FY2003, $746 million in FY2004, $650 million in FY2005, $539 million in
FY2006, and $547 million in FY2007. Table 1 shows recent appropriated funding for
firefighter assistance.
Table 1. Appropriations for Firefighter Assistance
(millions of dollars)
FY2005
FY2007
FY2007
FY2008
FY2006
(P.L. 108-
Admin.
(P.L. 109-
Admin.
(P.L. 109-90)
334)
request
295)
request
FIRE
650
539*
293
547
300
Grants
SAFER
65
109*
0
115
0
Grants
Total
715
648*
293
662
300
* Reflects government-wide 1% rescission.

FY2007. The Administration’s budget proposal requested $293.45 million for fire
grants in FY2007, a cut of 46% from the FY2006 appropriation for fire grants. The total
of $293.45 million requested for the firefighter assistance account (which includes both
fire grants and SAFER grants) was down 55% from the FY2006 level (see Table 1).
According to the Administration’s budget justification, the reduced appropriation for fire
grants “will be sufficient to fund hundreds of applications, focusing on those applications
that enhance the most critical capabilities enhancing local response to fire, terrorism, and
major disasters.” According to the Administration proposal, priority would be given to
grant applications enhancing terrorism capabilities. Fire grants would be available for
training, vehicles, firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment.
Wellness/fitness activities and fire station modification would not be funded. Activities
such as prevention, public fire safety education and awareness, fire code enforcement, fire
inspector certifications and inspection activities, purchase and installation of smoke
detectors, wild land mitigation awareness, and arson prevention would be funded under
5 For more details on the SAFER grant program, see CRS Report RL33375, Staffing for Adequate
Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program, by Lennard G. Kruger.

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the separate fire prevention and firefighter safety grant program. The Administration
requested no funding for SAFER Act grants, which support the hiring of firefighters as
well as the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. According to the budget
justification, “the Administration has not requested funds for SAFER Grants in FY2007
on the grounds that local public safety agencies should assume responsibility for funding
the appropriate number of personnel, and that Federal-funding for hiring local responders
puts newly-funded personnel at risk once grant dollars phase out.”
On May 17, 2006, the House Appropriations Committee approved $500 million for
fire grants and $40 million for SAFER grants in FY2007. In H.Rept. 109-476, the
Committee directed DHS to administer the grant programs in a manner identical to the
current year. The Committee did not agree to limit the list of eligible activities, nor to
refocus program priorities on terrorism. On May 25, during floor consideration of the
FY2007 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill (H.R. 5441), the House
approved an amendment offered by Mr. Sabo which increased FY2007 funding to $541
million for fire grants and $110 million for SAFER grants. An additional House
amendment added $2.1 million to each grant program for a total of $543.1 million for fire
grants and $112.1 million for SAFER. H.R. 5441 was passed by the House on June 6,
2006. On June 29, 2006, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $540 million
for fire grants and $115 million for SAFER. In S.Rept. 109-273, the Committee directed
DHS to continue direct funding to fire departments and the peer review process, to
continue the present practice of funding applications according to local priorities and
those established by the USFA, and to favor applications that take a regional approach in
equipment purchases and their future deployment. On July 13, the Senate approved by
Unanimous Consent an amendment sponsored by Senator Dodd which increased FY2007
funding to $552.5 million for fire grants and $127.5 million for SAFER grants. H.R.
5441 was passed by the Senate on July 13, 2006. The Conference Agreement (H.Rept.
109-699) provided $547 million for fire grants and $115 million for SAFER. The
Conference Agreement also designated $3 million for foam firefighting equipment used
in remote areas without access to water. The FY2007 Department of Homeland Security
appropriations bill was signed into law (P.L. 109-295) on October 4, 2006.
FY2008. The Administration is proposing $300 million for fire grants in FY2008,
a 45% cut from the FY2007 level. No funding is proposed for SAFER grants. The total
request for Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) is 55% below the FY2007 level for
fire and SAFER grants combined. The FY2008 budget proposal would eliminate grants
for wellness/fitness activities and modifications to facilities for firefighter safety. The
budget justification requests funding for “applications that enhance the most critical
capabilities of local response to fire-related hazards in the event of a terrorist attack or
major disaster.” The budget justification also states that the requested level of funding
is “an appropriate level of funding given the availability of significant amounts of funding
for first responder preparedness missions from other DHS grant programs which are better
coordinated with state and local homeland security strategies and, unlike AFG, are
allocated on the basis of risk.”

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Issues
A primary issue in the 110th Congress is how appropriations for fire grants in
FY2008 and FY2009 should compare with the authorized levels of $1 billion for those
years. The Administration’s budget proposals have typically recommended significant
cuts for fire grants, as well as zero funding for SAFER grants. Opponents of the cuts have
argued that the reduced levels are inadequate to meet the needs of fire departments, while
the Administration has argued that reduced levels were sufficient to enhance critical
capabilities in the event of a terrorist attack or major disaster. Aside from budget issues,
an ongoing issue has been the focus of the fire grant program. Administration budget
proposals have sought to shift the priority of the fire grant program to terrorism
preparedness. Firefighting groups have questioned this proposed shift, arguing that the
original purpose of the Fire Act (enhancing basic firefighting needs) should not be
compromised or diluted. S. 608, the Risk-Based Homeland Security Grants Act of 2007,
would direct DHS to conduct a study analyzing the distribution of fire grant awards and
the level of unmet firefighting equipment needs in each state.
A related issue is the role of the U.S. Fire Administration in the administration of the
fire grant program. At its inception, the program was administered by the USFA/FEMA
and focused on enhancing the basic needs of fire departments across the nation. In the
FY2004 budget request, as part of its effort to consolidate terrorism preparedness grants
under a single entity, the Administration proposed to relocate the fire grant program
within the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), whose mission was to provide state
and local governments with assistance to improve their readiness for terrorism incidents.
The FY2004 DHS Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-90) acceded to the Administration’s
request, and relocated the fire grants to ODP. The Conferees directed that DHS shall
“continue current administrative practices in a manner identical to the current fiscal year,
including a peer review process of applications, granting funds directly to local fire
departments, and the inclusion of the United States Fire Administration during grant
administration.”
On January 26, 2004, then-DHS Secretary Ridge informed Congress of his intention
to consolidate ODP, including the Assistance to Firefighters Program, into the Office of
State and Local Government Coordination Preparedness (OSLGCP). The FY2005
Homeland Security appropriations act (P.L. 108-334) placed the fire grant program within
OSLGCP. However, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program Reauthorization Act
of 2004 (P.L. 108-375) designated administration of the fire grant program to USFA.
According to the FY2006 budget request, the fire grant program would be administered
by the OSLGCP “in cooperation with the USFA.”
On July 13, 2005, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff announced a restructuring of
DHS, effective October 1, 2005. Under the restructuring plan, the fire grants (as well as
the SAFER grants) were to be administered by the Office of Grants and Training in the
new DHS Directorate for Preparedness. However, legislation considered in the 109th
Congress sought to restructure FEMA within DHS, with the result that fire and SAFER
grant programs would be transferred back to FEMA. Ultimately, Title VI of the
Conference Agreement on the DHS appropriations bill (P.L. 109-295; H.Rept. 109-699),
the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, transferred most of the
existing Preparedness Directorate (including fire and SAFER grants and the USFA) back
to an enhanced FEMA.
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