Agenda

Return

D.5

To:	Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors
From:	Lewis T. Broschard III, Chief, Contra Costa Fire Protection District
Date:	October 11, 2022

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

FY 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/11/2022

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, Director
Candace Andersen, Director
Diane Burgis, Director
Karen Mitchoff, Director
Federal D. Glover, Director

Contact:

Aaron McAlister, Deputy Fire Chief (925) 941-3300

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 11, 2022
,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to accept a FY 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, in an amount not to exceed $7,548,363 over a three-year period.

FISCAL IMPACT:

80% Federal, 20% District Funds. The SAFER grant budget is approximately $9.5 million over three years. The Federal award is approximately $7.5 million. The District will be responsible for providing local agency funds for the gap amount of approximately $2 million. The SAFER grant will reimburse the District for the costs associated with salary and benefits for twelve (12) firefighter paramedics, while the District will need to fund the difference in costs for the promoted ranks of the Engineer and Captain positions, as well as any overtime costs associated with staffing the rescue. The local agency funds will likely not be required in the current fiscal year and will need to budgeted for FY 2023/24 and subsequent fiscal years during the course of the period of performance.

BACKGROUND:

On April 26, 2022, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) Board of Directors (Board) ratified the District's application for grant funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency in an amount not to exceed $11,500,000 over a three-year period, for the FY 2021 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.

On September 15, 2022, the District was notified of a FY 2021 SAFER award in the amount of $7,548,363. The District must respond to the award by October 21, 2022.

The purpose of the SAFER grant program is to provide funding directly to fire departments to assist them in maintaining or increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.

Within the District a fire engine is typically staffed with a captain, an engineer, and a firefighter, at least one of which is a paramedic. The District's ladder trucks are staffed with four personnel, two of which are at the firefighter rank. With funding from the FY 2021 SAFER grant, the District would add a four-person dedicated rescue company consisting of a captain, engineer and two firefighters to assist with filling the need for additional, dedicated personnel for the increasing volume and complexity of rescue related incidents. A dedicated rescue company would consist of members with specialized training in rescue systems including confined space, technical rescue, high angle rope rescue, automobile extrication, building stabilization and shoring, and specialized training for incidents involving violence. Additionally, the rescue company would add system capacity to respond to structure fires, vehicle accidents, technical rescue incidents such as confined space, trench, or high angle rope rescues, vehicles into structures where shoring and stabilization is needed, and emergency medical calls.

As indicated in the above paragraph, staffing a four-person dedicated rescue company consists of adding a captain, engineer, and two firefighters over three shifts. That equates to 12 positions in total. The award does fund 12 positions but it funds them at the firefighter-paramedic level. Therefore, if the District accepts this grant, general operating funds will need to cover the cost difference between firefighter-paramedic and fire captain and fire engineer. The total project cost is estimated at $9.5 million, so the District will be responsible for the difference between the award amount and the total costs.

Period of Performance: The period of performance for this grant is 03/14/23 to 03/13/26.

Cost Share: There will be a cost sharing component with this award.

Acceptance of this award is time sensitive. The District may need to return with another action to add twelve (12) Firefighter-Paramedic positions.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If unapproved, the District would not accept the SAFER grant and not be able to utilize it to staff a full-time rescue company.