Applicants may now prepare and submit SAFER Grant applications via the online AFG e-Grant Application portal.

The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, August 10, 2012, 5 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time.

Visit the AFG/SAFER website for important instructions and information, including useful applicant tools.

SAFER Grants Application Help Desk
If you have any questions about applying for a SAFER grant, call or e-mail the SAFER Grants Help Desk. The toll-free number is 1-866-274-0960, and the e-mail address is firegrants@fema.dhs.gov.)

Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time 

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America's veterans have and continue to serve our country well. They have made countless sacrifices to ensure the freedoms and security of their fellow citizens. Now you can further honor their service, thank them for their dedication, and give them yet one more opportunity to serve the Nation.

There may be no better way to say thank you, while at the same time benefit your fire department, your fellow firefighters, and your community, than to hire a veteran to join your ranks. America's Veterans have a proven track record of dependability, teamwork, individual problem solving, and a deep commitment to public service that makes them ideally suited to the role of firefighter.

FEMA is committed to supporting military veterans and strongly encourages applicants to seek, recruit, and hire veterans to increase their ranks within their departments.

FEMA is encouraging fire departments applying for FY 2012 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) hiring grants to make the recruitment and hiring of veterans a priority and focus of their hiring policies and recruitment efforts. FEMA has developed several strategies and incentives that will be available to grantees that hire military veterans. Of the $320 million authorized for the FY 2012 SAFER grant program, $50 million in grant funds will be set aside specifically to fund SAFER firefighter positions that are filled by military veterans who are new employees not currently employed in the fire service.

As stated in the FY 2012 SAFER program guidance, hiring grant applicants that have a policy in place addressing their intent to implement strategies to support the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 and have recruiting efforts aimed at hiring post-9/11 Veterans will receive additional consideration. To receive this additional consideration, the applicant must describe their specific policies and recruiting efforts in the application's Narrative Statement. Each SAFER firefighter position that is filled by a military veteran will be eligible to receive full funding for three years instead of the usual two years.

SAFER hiring grant applicants should complete their applications as usual and submit them before the August 10, 2012, deadline. Hiring grant budgets should be prepared assuming that the firefighter positions will be filled for two years only. All grantees receiving awards for new hires will have 90 days to recruit the number of firefighters for which they are awarded. Third-year funding for SAFER firefighters who are veterans will be approved on a case-by-case basis through a post-award amendment process.

Materials explaining the procedures to be followed are being developed and will be distributed shortly. 

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The NVFC is holding a series of free live webinar courses on a variety of topics, including recruitment, retention, leadership, transitioning from a volunteer to combination department, and navigating fire service funerals. The courses are free, but register early to ensure your spot. Click here for course descriptions, schedule, and registration.

Fire Corps is also offering a free webinar on August 8 on running a community assistance program. Click here to learn more and register. 

 

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Name: Ronald Keddie
Rank: Firefighter
Age: 64
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 41
Date of Incident: 06/27/2012
Time of Incident: 1300hrs
Date of Death: 06/27/2012

Fire Department: Sheridan Fire Department
Address: 2800 Route 20, PO Box 122, Sheridan, NY 14135
Fire Department Chief: Aaron Brinkman

Incident Description: While preparing to respond to a motor vehicle accident, Firefighter Keddie was found unresponsive in the firehouse. A cause of death is still pending further investigation.

Incident Location: 2800 Route 20, Sheridan, NY 14135

Funeral Arrangements: Visitation: 07/02/12 - 1400hrs-1600hrs and 1900hrs-2100hrs, Mackowiak Funeral Home, 56 E Doughty ST, Dunkirk, NY. Funeral will be held on 07/03/12 at 1100hrs at the Sheridan Fire Station.

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter and former Fire Chief Ronald Keddie at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

______________________

Name: Rocky E. Dunkin
Rank: Firefighter
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: Pending
Date of Incident: 07/01/2012
Time of Incident: 0230hrs
Date of Death: 07/01/2012

Fire Department: Nile Township Volunteer Fire Department
Address: PO Box 41, 15 Third ST RT 52 674, Friendship, OH 45630
Fire Department Chief: Barry Davis

Incident Description: Firefighter Dunkin was found unconscious at the scene of a motor vehicle accident where he had been assisting medical personnel with crash victims. Dunkin was transported to South Ohio Medical Center but passed away from a cause still to be determined.

Incident Location: U.S. 52 near Friendship, Ohio
Funeral Arrangements: Pending

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Rocky E. Dunkin at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

______________________

Name: John L. Echternach, Jr.
Rank: Lieutenant/EMT
Age: 54
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 19
Date of Incident: 06/29/2012
Time of Incident: Pending
Date of Death: 06/29/2012

Fire Department: Boones Mill Volunteer Fire Department
Address: 25355 Virgil H Goode HWY, Boones Mill, VA 24065
Fire Department Chief: Division Chief Billy Ferguson

Incident Description: Lieutenant Echternach was en route to the fire station in response to an outbreak of severe weather in the area when he stopped to help another driver whose car, according to media reports, was hit by a tree. While assisting, Echternach was struck by another tree and severely injured. Firefighter Echternach succumbed to his injuries several days later while being treated in the hospital.

Incident Location: Vicinity of Boones Mill, VA, along U.S. 220.

Funeral Arrangements: A memorial service will begin at 1000hrs Saturday, July 7, 2012 in the Franklin Heights Baptist Church Sanctuary, 110 Hilltop Drive, Rocky Mount, VA 24151.

Tribute is being paid to Lieutenant/EMT John L. Echternach, Jr. at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

___________________________

Name: Paul K. Mikeal
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel/Evaluator Pilot
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 20


Name: Joseph M. McCormick
Rank: Major/Instructor Pilot
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: Pending

Name: Ryan S. David
Rank: Major/Navigator
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: Pending

Name: Robert S. Cannon
Rank: Senior Master Sergeant/Flight Engineer
Age: 50
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 29

Date of Incident: 07/01/2012
Time of Incident: 1830hrs
Date of Death: 07/01/2012

Fire Department: 145th Airlift Wing
Address: 4930 Minuteman Way, Charlotte, NC 28208
Fire Department Chief: BG Tony McMillan

Incident Description: Four members of the North Carolina Air National Guard, members of 145th Airlift Wing, were killed and two seriously injured while working a fire attack mission in South Dakota on the White Draw fire near Edgemont. The firefighting crew of the Air Force C-130H3, carrying a U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS), had been battling wildfires in the days leading up to the crash, including those around Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Incident Location: White Draw fire (near Edgemont, SD - USNG: 13T EJ 99 04)
Funeral Arrangements: Pending

Tribute is being paid to Lieutenant Colonel Paul K. Mikeal, Major Joseph M. McCormick, Major Ryan S. David, and Senior Master Sergeant Robert S. Cannon at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

______________________

Name: David R. Chew Jr.
Rank: Lieutenant
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 11

Date of Incident: 07/16/2012
Time of Incident: 1130hrs
Date of Death: 07/16/2012
Fire Department: Bloxom Volunteer Fire Company

Address: PO Box 132, 15312 Bayside DR, Bloxom, VA 23308
Fire Department Chief: James Bagwell

Incident Description: While responding to a motor vehicle accident, Lieutenant Chew was riding in a fire engine that ran off the road while negotiating a curve, striking several trees, and overturning. Lieutenant Chew died from injuries sustained when he was ejected from the fire engine.

Incident Location: Approximately 0.5 mile west of U.S. Route 13 on Nelsonia Road

Funeral Arrangements: Pending

Tribute is being paid to Lieutenant David R. Chew Jr. at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/  

To date, 47 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2012. Year-to-date monthly and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online @http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/ff_stats.shtm