In past years, Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, formerly known as the Firefighter Investment and Response Enhancement (FIRE) Act, began announcing awards to fire departments as early as June. This year, no awards have yet been made and there is a reason according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
After an inquiry from Firehouse.Com News, spokesperson Branda Napper emailed this response. "As required by statute, a notice outlining the FY 2006 program guidelines for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program must be published in the Federal Register before awards can be made. This notice is expected to post on Wednesday, September 6. Accordingly, DHS will begin the process of making awards immediately following the posting and expects to issue the first FY 2006 AFG awards within approximately four weeks."
Why it took so long to move to publish the guidelines is not answered. In the past, copies of the "Final Rule", a plan outlining the criteria to be used to determine successful grant applications, have appeared in the Federal Register as early as February 27,2002 and March 14, 2003. It is not clear to what guidelines DHS is referring.
When DHS begins to announce the awards, Firehouse.com will post the results.
After an inquiry from Firehouse.Com News, spokesperson Branda Napper emailed this response. "As required by statute, a notice outlining the FY 2006 program guidelines for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program must be published in the Federal Register before awards can be made. This notice is expected to post on Wednesday, September 6. Accordingly, DHS will begin the process of making awards immediately following the posting and expects to issue the first FY 2006 AFG awards within approximately four weeks."
Why it took so long to move to publish the guidelines is not answered. In the past, copies of the "Final Rule", a plan outlining the criteria to be used to determine successful grant applications, have appeared in the Federal Register as early as February 27,2002 and March 14, 2003. It is not clear to what guidelines DHS is referring.
When DHS begins to announce the awards, Firehouse.com will post the results.
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