GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN HAS ENDED. AFG OFFICES ARE NOW OPEN!
Late Wednesday night, President Obama signed into law the enactment of a continuing resolution which provides funding for the Federal government to resume normal operations. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is open and is working to resume normal operations. We fully understand that this has been a difficult and challenging time for many and are happy to be back at work and diligently serving the needs our grantees.
One of our first priorities will be to review and process pending amendment and payment requests so that grantees may be continue with the successful completion of their awards. Starting on October 21, we anticipate having additional help desk staff on duty to assist with processing these requests and to providing additional assistance to those who need it. If you have a pending payment or amendment request, please know that this is one of our top priorities and we will get them processed as quickly as possible. Please note, however, that it will take some time to review and process all pending requests, so we kindly ask for your continued patience as we work through the backlog.
FY 2013 AFG APPLICATION PERIOD
The recent government shutdown has had an impact on the timing of the upcoming AFG application period. The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is nearly ready and will be published soon, with the application period to follow soon thereafter. Please watch closely for further updates to the application schedule as it is our intent to run the application period as soon as legally possible.
FY2013 SAFER AWARDS
The shutdown has also impacted our ability to complete reviews of funding recommendations for FY2013 SAFER applications. The staff are back to work reviewing applications recommended by the Peer Reviewers for award, and once completed we will begin to announce awards, on a rolling basis, each week.
Should you have any questions about how your application or grant award may have been impacted by the recent government shutdown, please don’t hesitate to call the Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 or by emailing firegrants@dhs.gov.
AFG Home Page: www.fema.gov/firegrants
AFG Regional Representatives: www.fema.gov/fire-grant-contact-information
AFG Help Desk: E-mail: firegrants@fema.dhs.gov
Telephone Toll-Free: 1-866-274-0960