HomeMy WebLinkAboutRatify Fire Chief's signature on 2011 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application
Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Jason Shrauger, Fire Chief
REVIEWED BY: Chuck Winn, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Ratify Fire Chief signature on 2011 Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Application
MEETING DATE: September 19, 2011
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Consent
RECOMMENDATION: Ratify Fire Chief signature on grant application.
BACKGROUND: Every year the Department of Homeland Security provides grant
opportunities to fire departments to meet staffing and equipment needs not otherwise available at
the local level. The grant program is called the “Assistance to Firefighters Grant”. The Bozeman
Fire Department has been the recipient of these grants several times since 2002. Last year we
were able to complete installation of Opticom on all intersection lights in the community. Other
past grants have purchased radios, thermal imagers, fire suppression sprinklers and exhaust
removal systems in our stations.
Our 2011 application is designed to improve Advanced Life Support capabilities to the citizens
and guests of our community. The grant consists of two parts; equipment and training to upgrade
certifications of existing firefighters. Funding of this project will significantly enhance the
capacity of the City of Bozeman Fire Department to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) and
related Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Currently the department has 4 shift paramedics and
4 Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate (EMT I-85) level providers. The department
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needs to increase this ALS coverage. In the near future the National Registry of Emergency
Medical Technicians (NREMT) will be removing the EMT I-85 certification, making it essential
for the Department to upgrade EMT’s to EMT I-99 status in order to maintain levels of service
and certifications. To enhance coverage, the department will use the grant funds to train and
certify a total of 9 firefighters to the NREMT I-99 Level. This program will allow the department
to increase our ALS service to 13 ALS providers, the four current paramedics and a total of 9
EMT I-99’s.
The equipment request is to fund the required training equipment supplies and a Lifepak 15
Defibrillator. The defibrillator is a $35,000 piece of equipment that is difficult to fund through
normal budgetary processes. The addition of this piece of equipment will allow us to have
Lifepak-15 defibrillators on two of our three front line engines. The third engine will continue to
carry a Lifepak-12 defibrillator until such time as it can be replaced with a Lifepak-15.
The grant application is an online application and is difficult to print in its entirety, so I have
attached the budgetary pages and copies of the equipment and training program narratives for
your review.
The grant has a local match requirement of 10% of the total project costs. This grant will not be
awarded until mid calendar year 2012 so all grant match requests will be made in our FY 13
budget request if we are successful in our application.
UNRESOLVED ISSUES: None
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission.
FISCAL EFFECTS: Acceptance of this grant will require a 10% local match of the total
project costs. The total cost of the project including training and equipment is $182,105. If
awarded, the FY 13 Fire Department general fund budget request will include the 10% match in
the amount of $18,210.
Attachments: FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application budget and narratives.
Report compiled on: September 8, 2011
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