Federal grant programs / Department of Homeland Security

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) (97.083)

Also known as Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.8 billion
• Grant awards1,241
• Typical award$582,857
• Awarded in FY 2025$285 million
• Size rank183 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $325 million in fiscal 2021 to $285 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 183rd largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 23% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 51 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program is one of three grant programs that constitute the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) focus on enhancing the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. The SAFER Program provides funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to assist in increasing the number of firefighters to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate fire protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments. FEMA will measure the recipient’s performance of the grant by comparing the number of items, supplies, projects, and activities needed and requested in its application with the number of items, supplies, projects, and activities acquired and delivered by the end of the period of performance. Please see applicable Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for additional information on the specific program metrics.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

What the money can and cannot pay for

All costs charged to awards under the SAFER program must comply with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, unless otherwise indicated in the NOFO or the terms and conditions of the award. This includes, among other requirements, that costs must be incurred, and products and services must be delivered, within the period of performance of the award. Additionally, all costs must comply with the applicable statutes, policies, requirements in the respective NOFOs as well as with the terms and conditions of the award. Grant recipients may only use federal funds or funds applied to a cost share for the purposes set forth in the NOFOs and the terms and conditions of the award, and those costs must be consistent with the statutory authority for the award. Grant funds may not be used for matching funds for other federal grants/cooperative agreements, lobbying, or intervention in federal regulatory or adjudicatory proceedings. In addition, federal funds may not be used to sue the federal government or any other government entity. All costs charged to awards under the SAFER program must comply with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, unless otherwise indicated in the NOFO or the terms and conditions of the award.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Award amounts for the SAFER program vary based on approved project costs, item eligibility, and applicable funding caps. There is no minimum nor maximum funding request. The average previous Hiring Activity awards was $3,253,266 and the average R&R Activity award was $308,960.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program funded 207 grant awards to hire new career firefighters and conduct volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention programs. These awards provided funding to fire departments to hire new operational firefighters, thereby increasing their compliance with staffing, response and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1710/1720). The program also provided personal protective equipment (PPE) and entry-level physical examinations for volunteer firefighter new recruits, purchased LED signs for volunteer fire department recruitment, and funded digital and print marketing campaigns.Fiscal Year2026: The SAFER Program was appropriated $324 million to help communities meet industry minimum standards and attain 24-hour staffing to provide adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards, and to fulfill traditional missions of fire departments. We estimate that we will make 300 awards averaging $1,080,000 per award.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Almost all of the money went to state and local governments.

By state

48 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.