SAFER FEMAGO App Submitted 7.2.25.pdf

Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Staffing for See ee ovatus
Adequate Fire and Emergency
Response (SAFER) Grant

Application ID: EMW-2024-FF-01492

OMB number: 1660-0054, Expiration date: 11/30/2022 View burden statement

System for Award Management (SAM.gov) profile

Please identify your organization to be associated with this application.
All organization information in this section will come from the System for Award Management (SAM) profile for
that organization.

CITY OF BUCKEYE

Information current from SAM.gov as of: 05/04/2025
UEI-EFT: WYJHKKNHLA38
DUNS (includes DUNS+4): 085452928
Employer Identification Number (EIN): 866000236
Organization legal name: CITY OF BUCKEYE

Organization (doing business as) name:

Mailing address: 530 EAST MONROE AVENUE BUCKEYE, AZ 85326-
2806
Physical address: 530 E MONROE AVE BUCKEYE, AZ 85326-2806

Is your organization delinquent on any federal debt? N
SAM.gov registration status: Active as of 04/13/2025

¥ We have reviewed our bank account information on our SAM.gov profile to ensure it is up to date

Applicant information

Please provide the following additional information about the department or organization applying for this grant.

Applicant Name (i.e., fire department or organization City of Buckeye
name)

Main address of location impacted by this grant

Main address 1 21699 W. Yuma Road
Main address 2 Suite 101

City Buckeye
State/territory

Zip code 85326

Zip extension 8708

In what county/parish is your organization physically Maricopa County
located? If you have more than one station, in what
county/parish is your main station located?

Applicant characteristics

The SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) program intends to improve or restore local
fire departments’ staffing and deployment capabilities so they may more effectively respond to emergencies.
With the restored or enhanced staffing, grantees should see a reduction in response times and an increase in
the number of trained personnel assembled at the incident scene. Grant funds are available in two activities:
Hiring Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters. Please review the Notice of Funding
Opportunity for information on available program areas and for more information on the evaluation process and
conditions of award.

Please provide the following additional information about the applicant.

Applicant type Fire Department/Fire District
What kind of organization do you represent? All Paid/Career
Which activity are you applying for? Hiring of Firefighters

Operating budget

What was your department's operating budget (e.g., personnel, maintenance of apparatus, equipment, facilities,
utility costs, purchasing expendable items, etc.) related to fire-related programs and emergency response for the
current (at time of application) fiscal year, as well as the previous three fiscal years?

Current Fiscal Year (i.e., 2021) 2026

Fiscal Year Operating budget
2026 $32,189,200.00
2025 $31,729,400.00
2024 $25,950,757.00
2023 $23,144,235.00

What percentage of the declared operating budgetis 78
dedicated to personnel costs (salary, benefits, overtime
costs, etc.)?

Does your department have any rainy day reserves, No
emergency funds, or capital outlay?

What percentage of the declared operating budget is derived from the following

Taxes

Bond issues

EMS billing

Grants

Donations

Fund drives

Fee for service

Other

Total

Please explain the "Other" portion of the declared The "other" category represents the City of
operating budget. Buckeye General Fund Budget, mostly

2026

66

12

21

100 %

Describe your financial need to include descriptions of
the following:

« Income vs. expense breakdown of the current
annual budget

¢ Budget shortfalls and the inability to address
financial needs without federal assistance

e Actions taken to obtain funding elsewhere (i.e.
state assistance programs or other grant
programs)

¢ How your critical functions are affected without
this funding

intergovernmental revenues, licenses and permits,
franchise fees, fines and forfeitures, and interest
income.

The City of Buckeye (COB) is one of the fastest-
growing cities in the United States. The revenue
generated by this population growth lags behind
the population explosion by several years.
However, the services demanded by the increased
population are immediate, which leaves Buckeye
with expenditure requirements that continuously
exceed the revenue available. The City of
Buckeye's current Fiscal Year (FY) 26 General
Fund budget reflects an estimate for revenues of
$50 million and expenditures of $206 million. This
leaves a shortfall of $156 million in the FY 26 City
of Buckeye budget. Similarly, the Buckeye Fire
Medical Rescue Department (BFMRD) FY 26
budgeted revenues are only $11 million versus
expenditures of about $32 million. Salaries and
wages alone are forecasted to be $25 million in FY
26. Attempts to help bridge the budget gap have
been partially successful, having been awarded
$311,000 in grants for BFMRD in FY 25. Buckeye
has been unsuccessful in obtaining funding from
the SAFER and AFG grants over the past few
years. Other sources of funding have been
unavailable. Without SAFER funding to staff the
requested 15 positions, COB will be without a
funding source. When that occurs, it will become
increasingly difficult to maintain compliance with
the Phoenix Metro Automatic-Aid agreement.
Maintaining daily staffing benchmarks supports
the FEMA goal of strengthening preparedness and
resilience. The lack of the award increases the risk
of aless than complete complement of firefighters
who are encountering an increased workload.
According to the National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST), when considering time to
complete essential tasks on an emergency scene,
a 3-person versus a 4-person staffed engine or
truck results in a 25% increase in time to complete
essential tasks. This increase could result in an
increased risk to the community through less
desirable outcomes. Improved response times can
result in better outcomes for the time-sensitive
emergency incidents to which BFMRD responds.
The additional personnel funding is not available in
the COB budget, and BFMRD has been unable to

Other funding sources

obtain other funding from State, local, or private
sources. The budget gap is so large that the
shortfall remains extensive, and BFMRD is still in
need of these critical firefighters, funded by this
request, to provide safety for the community.
Buckeye needs another fire station to
accommodate the needs of the community. The
requested firefighters will be used to staff the new
fire station. Without grant funds to staff the new
fire station, Buckeye is at risk of not having the
funding to staff the new fire station. If awarded,
after the expiration of the grant, COB will include
the continuation of these grant-funded positions in
future General Fund budgets. It is projected that
within the next few years, the revenue generated
from the population growth in Buckeye will provide
for ample budget in the COB General Fund to
support the additional firefighter positions
requested in this grant application. COB is
committed to funding the future financial
expenditures as required by this grant, should the
grant be awarded to Buckeye. The current National
Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1710
benchmark for a 2,000 square foot single-family
dwelling for first unit response time is 4 minutes,
whereas, due to the lack of budget funding for
additional personnel, the Buckeye 90th percentile
response time is 9 minutes, 8 seconds. The US
average number of firefighters per 1,000 of
population is 2.5 firefighters, whereas BFMRD’s
ratio is 1.14 firefighters. The addition of 15 new
firefighters, as requested through this grant,
improves the ratio to 1.27 firefighters per 1,000
people. BFMRD believes it can show an
improvement in response times based on a new
station and staffing. All engine companies are
more likely to remain in their primary first due
area, thus improving response time by reducing
the need to cover other response areas.

This fiscal year, are you receiving Federal funding from No

any other grant program for the same purpose for
which you are applying for this grant?

This fiscal year, are you receiving Federal funding from Yes

any other grant program regardless of purpose?

Please provide an explanation for other funding The City of Buckeye is currently receiving funding

sources in the space provided below. from sources such as state, county, private, and
tribal organizations in the form of grants. Grants
from these sources for BFMRD have been limited,
with many of the grants awarded supporting the
Buckeye Police Department, Buckeye Community
Services Department, or Buckeye Public Works
Department. Grant applications to these other
funding sources have been submitted for BFMRD
but have had limited success.

Applicant and community trends

Please provide the following additional information about the applicant.
Injuries and fatalities 2024 2023 2022

What is the total number of fire-related civilian fatalities in your 3 0 2
jurisdiction over the last three calendar years?

What is the total number of fire-related civilian injuries in your 0 7 5
jurisdiction over the last three calendar years?

What is the total number of line of duty member fatalities in your 0 1 0
jurisdiction over the last three calendar years?

What is the total number of line of duty member injuries in your 37 25 24
jurisdiction over the last three calendar years?

What is the total number of members with self-inflicted fatalities 0 0 0
over the last three years?

How many frontline vehicles does your organization have in each of the types or classes of vehicle listed below
that respond to first alarm assignments in support of NFPA 1710/1720? You must include vehicles that are
leased or on long-term loan as well as any vehicles that have been ordered or otherwise currently under contract
for purchase or lease by your organization but not yet in your possession.

Filled riding positions
The number of filled riding positions must be equal or less than the number of frontline apparatus
multiplied by the number of available riding positions.

Type or class of vehicles

Engines or pumpers (pumping capacity of 750 gallons per minute

(GPM) or greater and water capacity of 300 gallons or more):

pumper, pumper/tanker, rescue/pumper, foam pumper,
pumper, type I, type II engine urban interface.

Ambulances for transport and/or emergency response.

Tankers or tenders (water capacity of 1,000 gallons or more).

Aerial apparatus: aerial ladder truck, telescoping, articulating,

ladder towers, platform, tiller ladder truck, quint.

Brush/quick attack (pumping capacity of less than 750
water carrying capacity of at least 300 gallons): brush t
unit (pickup w/ skid unit), quick attack unit, mini-pumpet

engine, type IV engine, type V engine, type VI engine, type VII

engine.

Rescue vehicles: rescue squad, rescue (light, medium,
technical rescue vehicle, hazardous materials unit.

Additional vehicles: EMS chase vehicle, air/light unit, rehab units,

bomb unit, technical support (command, operational

Number of Number of
Number of . .

; available filled
frontline a _
apparatus riding riding

PP positions _ positions
6 24 24
CAFS
0 0 0
0 0 0
1 4 0
GPM and 0 0 0
ruck, patrol
r, type Ill
heavy), 0 0 0
1 2 2

support/supply), hose tender, salvage truck, ARFF (aircraft rescue

firefighting), command/mobile communications vehicle.

Is your department facing a new risk, expanding
service to a new area, or experiencing an increased
call volume?

Please explain how your department is facing a new
risk, expanding service to a new area, or experiencing
an increased call volume.

Yes

Buckeye’s population growth and increased call
volume resulted in the need to plan two new Fire
Stations, expanding service into new areas that are
developing residential, retail, and commercial
properties, and requiring BFMRD to increase the
size of their firefighter staff. These additional fire
stations within Buckeye are currently in the
planning stages. Buckeye is experiencing a shift in
the community makeup, stimulated by the
population growth. The community is mostly
agricultural/open space, land use, and non-
retirement population; however, there has been a
significant increase in residential, retail, and
commercial/industrial development within the
community. New residential neighborhoods and

traffic counts on Buckeye roads are growing daily.
COB was mostly single-family residential
structures, and now multi-family dwellings are
being introduced. The service demands of the
community are changing as there are more COB
roadway users, leading to increased calls for
service and an increased risk of crashes.
Additionally, more retirees are moving to Buckeye,
increasing the need for new services that
accommodate this age group. According to an
article by AZ Big Media, by the year 2040, Buckeye
is anticipated to have a population of
approximately 300,000 people. The current
population is about 119,000 (Buckeye, Arizona
Population 2025). New master-planned community
developments are currently in various
construction phases. One new development is
Teravalis, with a proposed 33,800 acres, and is
projected to contain 100,000 homes and support
300,000 residents. Teravalis is projected to contain
55 million square feet for commercial
development. Another development, Verrado
Marketplace, a 500,000-square-foot retail center,
broke ground and is anticipated to open in the near
future. Verrado Marketplace is located next to the
8,800-acre master-planned community of Verrado
(Here's how Buckeye leads the West Valley as a
hot spot for development - AZ Big Media). The
aforementioned COB developments will increase
population density, leading to increased roadway
congestion and specialized calls for service, thus
increasing the need for more Emergency Medical
Service (EMS) training. The current increase in
requests for service requires communications and
cross-training to play a larger part in the usage of
fewer personnel for more requests for service. An
example of this challenge is that a larger number
of increased requests for service require EMS,
creating the need for more firefighters with
paramedical training. Currently, about 44% of
BFMRD’s personnel have 5 years or fewer of on-
the-job experience. As BFMRD is growing, they are
seeing an increased need to hire and train
firefighters. During 2024, BFMRD trained 117
operations personnel, which included 33,086
training and professional development hours,
1,681 technical rescue hours, 1,962 hazardous
materials hours, and 520 recruit academy hours,
which accounts for 309 training hours per member.

BFMRD requires 150 annual training hours per

member.

Community description

Please provide the following additional information about the community your organization serves.

Type of jurisdiction served City
What type of community does your organization Rural
serve?

What is the square mileage of your first due response 640
zone/jurisdiction served?

What percentage of your primary response area is 20
protected by hydrants?

What percentage of your primary response area is for the following:

Agriculture, wildland, open space, or undeveloped properties
Commercial and industrial purposes
Residential purposes

Total

What is the permanent resident population of your first 119000
due response zone/jurisdiction served?

Do you have a seasonal increase in population? Yes

What is your seasonal increase in population (number 5000
of people)?

Percentage
(must sum to
100%)

94
2
4

100

Please describe your organization and/or community COB is a rural area of 640 square miles and a

that you serve. population of 119,000. The vast service area
presents challenges compounded by numerous
barriers. These are largely comprised of
topographical challenges, including the White Tank
Mountains (WT), which separate sections of
Buckeye. All responses to the north and west of
WT must travel around the range, creating

response delays. This challenge and the rapid
growth to the north and northwest of Buckeye are
reasons why new fire stations need to be built to
serve these areas. Buckeye is 20% covered by
hydrant service, greater than 94%
agricultural/open space, 4% residential, 2%
industrial/commercial use, and averages 91 sq.
miles per station. World Population Review
estimates the 2025 population is 119,000 (Buckeye,
Arizona Population 2025). The community includes
30,158 households. Buckeye’s 2025 main ethnic
breakdown is 19% Latino, 60% White, 7% Black,
and 14% other. World Population Review estimates
median household income for 2025 is $98,778, the
median age is 35, and 7% of households are below
the poverty level. Portions of Buckeye are federally
identified as historically disadvantaged as to
transportation, health, equity, environmental
indicators, Risk Management Plan facility
proximity, wastewater discharge, flood risk,
education, income, socioeconomic indicators,
unemployment, and a high level of vulnerability to
negative effects caused by external stresses on
human health. These areas include Downtown
Buckeye (tract 04013050702) and Valencia,
adjacent to Downtown (tract 04013050701). Over
the last 5 years, Buckeye has seen an increase in
commercial buildings such as Costco Wholesale
and several large warehouses. Buckeye
anticipates a dramatic increase in commercial
buildings as developers are currently constructing
and planning more buildings. Buckeye also
anticipates continued population growth as COB is
one of the fastest-growing cities in the United
States. BFMRD is committed to taking proactive
steps to ensure community safety. BFMRD is an
all-hazards agency that operates seven (7) fire
stations, a headquarters facility, a logistics facility,
and a training center. Its responses are by seven
(7) front-line engine companies, one cross-staffed
ladder truck, and one battalion command vehicle.
Several non-staffed units are available for
specialty responses and reserve capacity. The
COB maintains Wildland, Technical Rescue, and
Hazardous Materials response capabilities. BFMRD
employs 136 full-time staff. General duties and
responsibilities of BFMRD are defined in the Code
of Ordinances of the City of Buckeye. These are
accomplished through a management structure led

Call volume

by the Chief of BFMRD and a command and
general staff. These are divided into four divisions
and an executive staff that reports directly to the
Chief of the BFMRD. The Chief, supported by 3
Assistants and an Accreditation Manager, is
responsible for all staff, strategic planning, budget
management, labor management, and policy
development. Assistant Chief of Operations and
Emergency Services, and 3 Shift Commanders and
Chief of Training direct daily operations and
emergency services. The Chief of Training directs
development and delivery of non-EMS-based
continuing education, hands-on training, and
associated curriculum. The Assistant Chief of
Administrative Services, Chief of Resource
Management, and Chief of Community Risk
Reduction direct administrative services. The Chief
of Resource Management directs facilities,
equipment, and logistics. The Chief of Community
Risk Reduction directs emergency management,
public education, and outreach. The Division Chief
of EMS, EMS Captain, and Community
Paramedicine Program Manager direct EMS
activities, EMS-based continuing education and
associated curriculum, development and delivery,
and community health coordination initiatives. The
Fire Marshal, and 3 Fire Prevention Specialists
direct fire prevention code enforcement, plans
review, and fire inspection duties.

Summary 2024 2023 2022
Fire - NFIRS Series 100 358 270 274
Overpressure Rupture, Explosion, Overheat (No Fire) - NFIRS Series 3 3 4
200

Rescue & Emergency Medical Service Incident - NFIRS Series 300 929 710 720
Hazardous Condition (No Fire) - NFIRS Series 400 185 148 156

Service Call - NFIRS Series 500

812 652 679

Summary 2024 2023 2022

Good Intent Call - NFIRS Series 600 616 353 354

False Alarm & Falls Call - NFIRS Series 700 572 464 472

Severe Weather & Natural Disaster - NFIRS Series 800 8 3 2

Special Incident Type - NFIRS Series 900 2 46 50

Total 3485 2649 2711
Fire

How many responses per year by category? Enter whole numbers only. If you have no calls for any of the
categories, enter 0.

How many responses per year per category? 2024 2023 2022
"Structure Fire" (Of the NFIRS Series 100 calls, NFIRS Codes 111-120) 99 118 121
"Vehicle Fire" (Of the NFIRS Series 100 calls, NFIRS Codes 130-138) 78 52 57
"Vegetation Fire" (Of the NFIRS Series 100 calls, NFIRS Codes 140-143) 78 40 40
Total 255 210 218

What is the total acreage of all vegetation fires? Enter whole numbers only. If you have no vegetation fires, enter
0.

Total acreage per year 2024 2023 2022

Total acreage of all vegetation fires 17 62 2

Rescue and emergency medical service incidents

How many responses per year per category? 2024 2023 2022
"Motor Vehicle Accidents" (Of the NFIRS Series 300 calls, NFIRS Codes 533 620 629
322-324)

"Extrications from Vehicles" (Of the NFIRS Series 300 calls, NFIRS Code 11 48 50

352)

How many responses per year per category? 2024 2023 2022

"Rescues" (Of the NFIRS Series 300 calls, NFIRS Code 300, 351, 353- 100 37 40
381)

EMS-BLS Response Calls 2790 2878 2888
EMS-ALS Response Calls 4887 3120 3129
EMS-BLS Scheduled Transports 0 0 0
EMS-ALS Scheduled Transports 0 0 0
Community Paramedic Response Calls 607 2602 2635
Total 8928 9305 9371

Mutual and automatic aid

How many responses per year by category? Enter whole numbers only. If you have no calls for any of the
categories, enter 0.

How many responses per year per category? 2024 2023 2022
Amount of times the organization received Mutual Aid 4 38 40
Amount of times the organization received Automatic Aid 1356 782 800
Amount of times the organization provided Mutual Aid 41 82 84
Amount of times the organization provided Automatic Aid 888 1018 1020
Of the Mutual and Automatic Aid responses, amount that were structure 83 56 55
fires

Total 2372 1976 1999

Instructions

You can add the positions you are requesting by using the add buttons below. Include all positions
in a single item. Please answer all the questions for the overall Hiring activity as well as the required
information for the requested positions.

Grand total: $4,777,253.55

Activity: Hiring of Firefighters $4,777 ,253.55

Hiring of Firefighters activity questions

Staffing levels

SAFER intends to restore or improve local fire departments’ staffing and
deployment capabilities so they may more effectively respond to
emergencies. With the enhanced staffing, a SAFER grant recipient's
response time will be reduced sufficiently and an appropriate number of
trained personnel will be assembled at the incident scene.

The following questions are designed to help us understand the staffing
changes that have occurred in your department over the past several
years and how the grant will assist in restoring or improving your staffing
levels. The information provided must be a true and accurate depiction of
your department on the timelines listed below.

For more information regarding these standards please see the Notice of
Funding Opportunity or go to www.nfpa.org/freeaccess

Select the item that best describes 1710 - with aerial
the NFPA standard your department
is attempting to meet:

What is the department's current (at the start of the application period)
budgeted operational staffing level? Include all budgeted positions, even if
they are not currently filled.

Current budgeted operational 136
staffing level

How many budgeted, but vacant
operational positions does your
department have at the start of the
application period?

5

Please enter information about your organization's staffing levels in the

table below @ .

Total number
of operational

Staffing levels

career
personnel
Staffing levels at 127
the start of the
application period
Staffing levels at 112
one year prior to
the start of the
application period
Staffing levels at 104
two years prior to
the start of the
application period
If awarded this 142

grant, what will the
staffing levels be in
your department?

Please provide details on the
department's existing staffing model
to include the number of shifts,
number of positions per shift, chief
level officer staffing per shift (i-e.,
Battalion Chief, District Chief, etc.),
and contracted shift hours per
week/pay period. If the contracted
shift hours included FLSA overtime
or Kelly Days, please be sure to
include details.

N f

° seo Number of
P NFPA

career support

officers PP

36 0

33 0

27 0

36 0

The Buckeye Fire-Medical-
Rescue Department operates on
a three-shift cycle. This includes
24
firefighters/engineers/captains, a
Shift Commander, and a Battalion
Safety Officer. All line personnel
work on a 48/96 shift cycle that
results in a 56-hour work week,
and the inclusion of FLSA
overtime. BFRMD follows the
NFPA 1710 standard of a four-
person staffing complement on
engine and ladder companies,

which is met over 90% of the
time.

Does your department utilize part- No
time or reserve paid firefighters?

Hiring of firefighters

Please provide the following additional information regarding your fire
department.

Based on current staffing levels:

If your department utilizes overtime to fill positions to ensure you are
meeting applicable NFPA staffing and deployment standards, you should
remove the number of positions filled by overtime from your calculations.

How often does your department Most of the time (80 to 99%)
meet the NFPA assembly

requirements as indicated in the

table above for the department's

first due response zone/jurisdiction

served?

What is the average actual staffing 4
level on your first arriving engine
company or vehicle capable of
initiating suppression activities on

the number of structure fires

indicated in the department call
volume section of your application?

Do you provide NFPA 1582 annual Yes
medical/physical exams?

If awarded the number of positions requested in this
application:

How often do you anticipate that Always (100%)
your department will meet the NFPA

assembly requirements as indicated

in the table above?

What will be the average actual 4
staffing level on your first arriving
engine company or vehicle capable

of initiating suppression activities on
the number of structure fires

indicated in the department call
volume section of your application?

Will you provide the new hires with
NFPA 1582 entry-level physicals?

Will the personnel hired meet the
minimum EMS training and
certification as required by your
Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)?

Is it your department's intent to
sustain the awarded positions after
the completion of the period of
performance?

Please provide a brief description
on how the positions will be
sustained.

Describe the department's step-by-
step hiring process (application
period, written test, physical,
approval) and the timeline for each
step.

How many recruits can be trained in
one academy class?

Yes

Yes

Yes

If awarded, the positions will be
funded by the grant for the next 3
years. This will give Buckeye
sufficient time to increase its
revenue due to new growth and
to plan for the 15 firefighters’
compensation in future budgets.
Buckeye has committed to
funding the positions after the
grant funding has expired.

Regarding the hiring process,
Buckeye posts the job offerings
for a period of time (3 weeks).
Upon close of the job
opportunity, the submitted
applications are reviewed for
qualified applicants (1 week). The
selected qualified applicants are
then invited to take a written
examination with questions
related to the firefighter 1 and 2
curriculum (7 days). Applicants
receiving a passing score are
invited to a series of 2 interviews
with Buckeye Fire personnel (2
weeks). The selected applicants
from this pool have a final
interview with the Chief of Fire.
Upon passing a physical exam,
recruits receive an offer of
employment (1 week) and are
ready to enter the next training
academy.

60

How long after award will the
department be able to start a recruit
class?

How often are your recruit classes
held?

Does the department need
governing body approval to accept
and implement the award?

Provide details on the timeline
needed to accept the grant award.

Is your request for hiring firefighters
based on a risk analysis, staffing
needs analysis, or an Insurance
Services Office (ISO) rating?

Describe how the analysis was
conducted and the outcome of the
analysis or ISO rating.

Does your department currently
have a policy in place to recruit and
hire veterans?

Please provide a brief description of
the policy in place.

The Buckeye Fire-Medical-
Rescue Department will be able
to commence recruitment 30
days after the acceptance of the
award. Lateral recruits who have
been academy-trained will be
able to start work within 30 days.
Non-lateral recruit classes
generally commence within 6
months of the award.

Recruit classes are held on an as
needed basis.

Yes

Upon receipt of the award of the
grant, the grant award agreement
will be reviewed by staff and
legal. Upon completion of the
award review, the award will be
presented to the Buckeye City
Council for approval and
acceptance. This process should
take less than 30 days.

Yes

Due to Buckeye’s rapid growth,
BFMRD undergoes a continuous
outcome-based risk analysis.
Through ongoing performance
metric-based analysis, it has
been concluded that the first unit
response time that exceeds the
recommended 300 seconds/90th
percentile NFPA guideline is the
largest barrier to achieving
community goals.

Yes

In the event that 2 candidates
possess equal qualifications,
preference shall be granted to

the qualified persons who have
been members of the armed
forces of the United States and
who seek to enter the classified
service of the City of Buckeye
within 5 years of honorable
discharge from military service.

Narrative statements

The narrative statements must provide all the information necessary for
you to justify your needs and for FEMA to make an award decision. A
panel of peer reviewers will perform the second phase of the
applications’ evaluations by using the narrative statements below to
determine the worthiness of the request for an award.

Please ensure that your narrative clearly addresses each of the
following evaluation criteria elements to the best of your ability with
detailed but concise information. Provide only the information being
requested for each element; if you provided information pertaining to the
narrative elements elsewhere in the application you must still include it
below. Failure to provide the information being requested may result in a
lower score or the application not being funded.

Project description

Why does the department need the Buckeye’s population growth and

positions requested in this increased call volume resulted in

application? the need to plan two new Fire
Stations, expanding service into
new areas that are developing
residential, retail, and
commercial properties, and
requiring BFMRD to increase the
size of their firefighter staff.
These additional fire stations
within Buckeye are currently in
the planning stages. The
Buckeye 90th percentile
response time is 9 minutes, 8
seconds. BFMRD believes it can
show an improvement in
response times based on a new
station and staffing. The U.S.
average number of firefighters
per 1,000 of population is 2.5
firefighters, whereas BFMRD’s
ratio is 1.14. The addition of 15
new firefighters, as requested
through this grant, improves the

How will the positions requested in
this application be used within the
department? (e.g., 4th on engine,
open a new station, eliminate
browned out stations, reduce
overtime)?

What specific services will the
requested positions provide to the
fire department and community?

ratio to 1.27 firefighters per 1000
people.

1) BFMRD needs to prepare and
train firefighters to staff the
upcoming new fire stations. The
requested positions will be used
to open a new fire station that is
planned to meet the
geographical, population growth,
and commercial growth needs of
the City of Buckeye. 2) BFMRD
needs to reduce overtime. Some
of these proposed positions may
be utilized as “rovers.” This
means these positions will be
utilized to fill in at stations that
have a firefighter absence due to
sick leave, vacation, injury leave,
etc. These positions will assist in
reducing the consumption of our
overtime budget. In addition, they
will assist with compliance in
meeting the four-person staffing
standard as outlined in both
NFPA Standard 1710 and the
staffing agreement in the
Phoenix Valley Automatic-Aid
Consortium.

Upon the opening of a new fire
station, the requested new
positions will staff the new
station and perform all necessary
firefighter duties as required and
reduce COB initial response
times while potentially increasing
the number of firefighters on-
scene on various types of
incidents. As an example,
reduced initial response times
can lead to an improvement in
cardiac arrest survival and
recognition of stroke. These life-
threatening medical emergencies
are dependent on early
recognition and treatment. In the
case of cardiac arrest, the NFPA
has stated that each 60 seconds
that transpires without CPR