Page 21 - InCommand Volume 31

• $45 billion for the Disaster Relief Fund to reimburse activities such as medical response; procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE), disinfectants and medical supplies; and resulting overtime and back fill costs. The federal government will cover 75% of these costs. The USFA has released guidance to help fire departments to utilize FEMA’s Public Assistance program to be reimbursed for COVID-19 response costs.
• $100 million for Emergency Management Performance Grants for emergency preparedness. This grant program is run by FEMA. The grants were designated for use to take steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus; plan for alternate care sites; collect information on ventilator and hospital bed capacity; and track the inventory and burn rate for PPE. FEMA closed this application period on April 28.
The CARES Act also included $150 billion for state and local governments to pay for COVID-19 response. In addition, the bill allowed fire sprinkler retrofit installations in commercial buildings to qualify for bonus depreciation through 2027, as well as a 15-year depreciation period in perpetuity after 2027.
As Congress prepared to draft a fourth bill to help with the response and recovery to the COVID-19, the IAFC focused on increasing direct aid to local fire and EMS departments. The IAFC recently surveyed our members to identify the cost of the economic downturn on fire departments. For Fiscal Year 2021, we forecast that fire departments will suffer a $16.9 billion shortfall in budget revenue. In addition, 935 personnel already have been laid off since the COVID- 19 pandemic began. We also estimated that 29,925 fire department personnel will lose their jobs in the next twelve months. These facts demonstrate a need for assistance to local fire departments, especially if there is a surge in COVID-19 cases in the fall.
In order to help local fire departments, the IAFC is asking $5 billion each
for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program. We are asking for Congress to waive requirements like the cost-share to help fire departments maintain their operational capability in the face of budget cuts. We also are asking Congress to waive requirements to the SAFER program to allow fire departments to retain and re-hire fire departments. This effort is a signature initiative for Chief Gary Ludwig, the IAFC president, and he is asking all fire departments to contact their Senators and Representatives about this request: www.iafc.org/takeaction.
The IAFC also continues to push the Trump Administration and Congress
to act on a number of other important COVID-19 response issues. The IAFC met with FEMA Administrator Gaynor specifically to ask that fire and EMS departments be listed as priorities for receiving federally-supplied PPE and sanitizing agents. We also requested that both the Trump Administration and Congress act to prioritizes fire and EMS agencies for testing for COVID-19
and vaccinations (when they are developed). We also raised the problem of drug shortages, like such as saline, epinephrine, and glucose. Since the beginning of the crisis, we have raised concerns about the need for fire and EMS departments to
JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org I n C o m m a n d 21