Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- DHS-25-GPD-083-00-99
- Agency
-
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Department of Homeland Security
- Applications due
- Award size
- Not on record
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Grant
- Category
-
- Other
- Eligible applicants
-
- County Governments
- Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
- City/Township Governments
- Points of contact
-
- FEMA GO Help Desk femago@fema.dhs.gov (877) 585-3242
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is soliciting applications for the FY 2025 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program, with applications due June 22, 2026. FEMA will distribute $324 million across approximately 190 awards to support fire departments in hiring new firefighters or recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters.
Eligible applicants are fire departments, county governments, city and township governments, tribal governments, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits representing volunteer firefighter interests. The Hiring Activity is restricted to fire departments only; the Recruitment and Retention (R&R) Activity extends to both fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations.
The Hiring Activity requires a 25 percent cost share in years one and two and 65 percent in year three, with federal funding capped at 75 percent in the first two years and 35 percent in year three based on first-year firefighter salary. The R&R Activity carries no cost share requirement. Recipients must maintain an 80 percent budget maintenance level and comply with National Incident Management System standards before the grant's period of performance end date. Recipients may not lay off operational personnel without triggering grant termination.
Hiring Activity awards carry a 36-month period of performance following a default 180-day recruitment period. R&R Activity awards offer 12, 24, 36, or 48-month periods of performance with a default 90-day recruitment period. Applications are submitted through the FEMA GO online system and evaluated through pre-scoring based on program priorities and peer review panel assessment using weighted narrative criteria. Award announcements are anticipated by September 30, 2026, with award dates beginning approximately September 14, 2026. The program is authorized under Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a) and funded through the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Pub. L. No. 119-4). CFDA 97.083.
Synopsis
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Grant Programs Directorate implements and administers the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants. SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase frontline firefighters. SAFER offers grants to support activities in two activities:
1. Hiring of Firefighters
2. Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters
The authority for SAFER is derived from Section 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-498, as amended) (15 U.S.C. § 2229a).
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