Maryland, Virginia and the District have consistently seen only a fraction of the dollars awarded to other states in a major federal grant program meant to fill critical needs in fire gear, vehicles and training.
The uneven distribution of the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters grants appears to be a result of stiff competition from departments around the country and rules that favor networks of smaller departments over single large ones, such as in D.C.
“It’s a very competitive process,” said DHS spokeswoman Branda Napper, who said the agency this year is weighing about 18,000 separate requests for funding.
Individual fire departments, not states and cities, apply for the grants. D.C., which reports garnering $566,675 in fiscal year 2005, can apply only once for the grant each year because it’s considered a single department, according to city fire and EMS officials.
The Department of Homeland Security lists D.C. as receiving $453,340. The discrepancy could not be explained on Friday.
Departments in Wyoming, a state with a comparable population to the District of Columbia, garnered $2 million through 20 separate awards in the same year, according to statistics provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
Though the funds come from a federal agency created in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials say this grant program is geared more toward shoring up gaps in firefighter and paramedic safety than preparing regions for large scale disasters — though both issues are related.
“The larger departments normally don’t get the benefit of [Assistance to Firefighters grants],” said Willie Shelton, executive director of the Virginia Department of Fire Programs. “It’s those smaller ones that have older pieces of [equipment], older protective clothing, older self-contained breathing apparatus.”
The grants provided $14.8 million to Virginia and $8.8 million to Maryland in Fiscal 2005. Pennsylvania, the top beneficiary, took $41 million. New York came second with $37 million. Statistics show the distribution was similar in previous years.
Some state and local officials, however, do not appear concerned about the uneven allocations, saying they’ve still been able to use the funds for important safety equipment. For example, the grant program has allowed the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department to purchase a mobile “air and light” unit to illuminate fire scenes and re-fill air tanks, and provided D.C. Fire and EMS with the funds to buy a driving simulator they hope will reduce fatal accidents.
Lawrence Schultz, a deputy fire chief with D.C. Fire and EMS’ Division of Homeland Security, said the city has enjoyed success with the firefighter grants, despite issues with its methodology and distribution.
