BNJA_Redacted.pdf

4. Statutory Authority Permitting Other Than Full and Open Competition:

Contracts established under FAR subpart 13.5 are exempt from the requirements in FAR Part 6. However, an ordering activity must justify its action when restricting consideration of contractors to fewer than required in FAR

13.104 and in accordance with 41 U.S.C.1901. This justification is executed under the authority of Simplified Acquisition Procedures, specifically the authority granted by FAR 13.501(a) (2) (i) . The authority states, “For a proposed contract exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, but not exceeding $750,000, the contracting officer’s certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief will serve as approval, unless a higher approval level is established in accordance with agency procedures.”

5. Rationale Justifying Use of Cited Statutory Authority:

Per the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) f or FY23, beginning on October 1, 2026, the Secretary of Defense may not enter into a contract to procure or purchase covered personal protective firefighting equipment for use by Federal or civilian firefighters if such equipment contains an intentionally added perfluoroalkyl substance or polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substance. See NDAA FY23, Section 345, Restriction on Procurement or Purchasing by Department of Defense of Turnout Gear for Firefighters Containing Perfluoroalkyl Substances or Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. PFAS chemicals commonly used on PPE as a fire retardant have been found to have adverse health risks and have been linked to cancer and other diseases. As such, the Navy is making every effort to remove PFAS from use in the fire service. Based on the market research, it appears that other companies’ similar products do not meet, or cannot be modified to meet the agency’s needs because Techgen71 is the only brand currently available, which does not treat its turnout gear with the aforementioned carcinogens.

PPE are essential to the government's requirement to ensure safety IAW NDAA, Sec 5305 and are critical equipment for firefighting personnel to ensure firefighters can successfully perform their mission. CNRSW Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) require FIREDEX Techgen71 turnouts to begin replacing the current aging and out of spec Honeywell turnouts to ensure continued performance and mission execution as new personnel are added the for the force.

All of the CNRSW F&ES firefighters are currently wearing custom Honeywell Morning Pride structural turnouts.

The specs for these Honeywell turnouts have not been updated in 20 years and currently do not comply with the requirements set forth in NDAA Sec 345.

As a result, FIREDEX Techgen71 turnout gear is essential to Governments requirements and it is not feasible to competitively procure the supplies described in this LSJ from any other source.

6. Description of Efforts Made to Solicit Offers from as Many Offerors as Practicable:

Extensive market research was conducted to identify potential sources that could fulfill this requirement. The research involved researching GSA catalogs, public searches, SBA database search, and posting a sources sought at open market.

7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost:

This requirement will be solicited to the open market. As such, the contracting officer will determine that prices are fair and reasonable using the procedures in FAR 15.404-1, and will document such determination with a level of detail commensurate with the complexity and circumstances of each order.

8. Description of Market Research Conducted:

A search was done through the Small Business Coordination Record and FY23-JUL21-2 provided a Sources Sought (N00244-23-R-0022) w as posted to SAM.gov on 31 March 2023 and closed on 10 April 2023 to determine whether adequate sources exist and to survey whether other equal brands of PPE were available. Only one small business responded and offered the Fire-Dex TECGEN71, as a solution. GSA e-Library was also researched and MAS 339113PA, which provides protective apparel, including firefighting suits and accessories, body armor, and head protection but the Contracting Officer was unable to locate alternative PFAS-free turnout gear brands...

Government mandatory sources were researched and none of them are able to provide this requirement. Further research was conducted via public internet research on potential sources and the Dynamic Small Business Search on SBA.gov and presently no other brands were found capable of providing the non-PFAS PPE.

9. Actions to Remove Barriers to Future Competition:

A competitive request for quotes will be issued to maximize competition among FIREDEX Techgen71 authorized resellers for specified equipment. All future requirements will be evaluated to determine whether an alternate brand can be used. If another compatible source emerges, the requiring activity may assess whether full and open competition for future requirements is feasible.

10. Contracting Point of Contact: POC Jheanna Poblete, NAVSUP FLC San Diego, Code 250, 619-556- 5361, Jheanna Poblete, jheanna.u.poblete.civ@us.navy.mil