Fire Management Assistance Grant Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) Fire Management Assistance Grant Program (FMAGP) is a disaster assistance grant program available to States, local governments, and Indian tribal governments intended to aid States and their communities with the mitigation, management, and control of fires burning on publicly or privately owned forests or grasslands.
For eligible grant applicants to receive assistance under FMAGP, the Governor or the Governors Authorized Representative must request a fire management assistance declaration while the fire is burning out of control and threatens to become a major disaster. FEMAs Recovery Division Director makes declarations on a 24-hour real-time basis. Declaration eligibility determinations are based upon the following criteria:
- Threat to lives and improved property, including threats to critical infrastructure, and critical watershed areas;
- Availability of State and local firefighting resources;
- High fire danger conditions; and
- Potential for major economic impact.
FMAGP Assistance
FMAGP provides a 75% federal cost-share reimbursement to Grantees for actual costs. In Florida, local agencies that assist with the fighting of declared wildfires are considered to be acting in a mutual aid capacity for the State Division of Forestry. As such, current procedures call for the State to pay the 25% non-federal share on behalf of local agencies responding to wildfires in a mutual aid capacity. Local responding agencies are currently required to pay the 25% non-federal share on non-firefighting activities, which typically includes emergency protective measures such as evacuations, sheltering, and other non-firefighting activity.
