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OSFA SAFER Grant 2005 Through Year 3

Greetings to all!

UPDATE:  December 7, 2010... The SAFER 2005 Grant is now CLOSED.  No funds are available for the projects discussed in the article below.  You may call the OSFA office for more information as we continue to seek funds by which we may continue with these projects.

I write this article just before the second big arctic front blows into our state and I rest at ease that the Oklahoma Fire Service is prepared and capable to handle the tasks that are soon to be before them.

However, this article will be done in two installments because I am hoping to summarize the results of the OSFA SAFER 2005 grant for you.  Without further ado… here we go!

SAFER logoOSFA SAFER 2005 Grant Through Year Three:

Volunteer Firefighter Training Reimbursement Project
Through Year Three, 368 Volunteer firefighters have received a stipend intended to help offset expenses they incurred while attending required training outside of their district.  37 (10%) of these were female firefighters.  The total disbursed through this project to date is $58,740.51.  This is equivalent to every firefighter that participated in this project receiving $159.62.

2007
$22,197.34 was disbursed in reimbursement stipends to 190 active volunteer firefighters.  This averages out to $116.83 per firefighter.  Women and minorities represented 7% of this group

2008
$11,164.50 was disbursed in reimbursement stipends to 76 active volunteer firefighters during 2008.  This averages out to $146.90 per firefighter.  Women & minorities represented 12% of the total firefighters this year.

2009
$25,378.00 in reimbursement stipends have been distributed among 80 active volunteer firefighters.  This averages out to $317.23 per firefighter.  In 2009, 15% of the total firefighters active in this project were women and minorities.

The stipends used for reimbursement were originally calculated using a flat-rate stipend calculated to reimburse volunteer firefighters for actual out-of-pocket expenses.  The Federal rates were not initially implemented in an attempt to assure funds were used for firefighters in every COG (council of government) in Oklahoma throughout the Period of Performance (POP) of four years.  After an on-site review by FEMA, the Federal rates were determined to be the course to follow to better assure that the volunteer firefighters are adequately reimbursed for expenses they incur when they attend required training that is outside of their district.  This helps to explain why the amount per firefighter had increased by 37% from Year One (2007).

The Year One number of volunteer firefighters who participated is more than double that of Year Three because we used the Bob Smith Wildland Roundup to kick off this project; and because it was heavily attended, we had many volunteers take advantage of the reimbursement project.  It was an unexpected surprise to all and well received since many at them acknowledged that this single event was the only one they could afford to attend each year due to budgetary constraints.

Tune in again next month for the rest of the data!

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Project
295 people requested to be a candidate for Volunteer Firefighter.

1,117 contacts for Volunteer Firefighter Candidates were made in their behalf to Oklahoma Volunteer and Combination Departments.

380 Fire Departments were contacted regarding these recruits.

29 of these candidates have been placed with one of 20 Fire Departments.  One of the members of this group became a paid firefighter with the Tulsa FD.

  • Berlin
  • Buncombe Creek
  • Cedar Blue
  • Cedar Country FPD
  • Checotah
  • Choctaw
  • Cordell
  • Fargo
  • Foyil
  • Grant
  • Gooseneck Bend
  • Ingalls
  • Oak Cliff
  • Oakgrove FPD (Catoosa)
  • Piedmont
  • Seminole
  • Thomas
  • Toppers
  • Tulsa
  • West Bryan County

10% of the total “pool” of candidates has been hired.

Number of recruits each year:

  • 2007 – 102
  • 2008 – 67
  • 2009 – 126

Of the 380 Fire Departments to which volunteer candidates were referred, 43% (168) are OSFA members.

Referrals were made by:

  • Face to face communication
  • Mail (snail-mail)
  • email
  • direct phone calls

Advertising for the recruitment of volunteer candidates has been accomplished in this manner.

  • Billboard advertising (15) throughout the state. (We have added two more billboards in NW Oklahoma through another funding source)
  • On-site billboards (inflatable)
  • Radio
  • Newspaper advertising
  • Television reports
  • Direct Referrals from members of the Oklahoma Fire Service from these Departments.
  • Broken Arrow FD
  • Norman FD
  • Tulsa FD
  • Oklahoma City FD
  • Also through presentations given at various events throughout the year.
  • John F. Futhey, II State Fire School
  • OSFA Convention
  • OFCA Conference
  • Bob Smith Wildland Roundup
  • Muskogee County Taxpayer Appreciation Day
  • Volunteer Caucus
  • Various Festivals and Fundraisers
  • Direct visit with individual Fire Departments

Volunteer Wellness Initiative – Physicals

An entry-level, Pension Physical has been available to newly-hired volunteer firefighters or, to in the absence of new-hires, the most recently hired volunteers.  This project has been very slow to take off and we have discovered some reasons as to why this would occur.

Regardless, here are some hard numbers for you to consider:

  • $6,900.00 has been paid out for the reimbursement of the costs associated with sending volunteer firefighters for these entry-level physicals.
  • 15 volunteer firefighters have received the entry-level Pension physical at no cost to their Fire Department.
  • Four (4) Fire Departments have had volunteers participate in this project.
  • All of the Fire Departments who participated are combination departments.

It became apparent to the OSFA that many Fire Departments were not in a position to send two volunteer firefighters to receive this physical at any time simply because they had not budgeted for it in the first place.  Therefore, it became a necessity to send the “reimbursement” first so the department could then write a check/Purchase Order to the medical office at the time of the physical.

Additionally, the OSFA has learned the need for consideration of lost wages as well as a possible lodging stipend for those folks coming from the far reaches of our state.  Please call Jimmy Edwards, Grant Coordinator at 1-800-FIRELINE for further information about how your department may participate in this or any of the projects listed for this grant.

jamese@osfa.info