Uncertainty. It is a word we hear far too often these days, particularly when referencing the current administration’s efforts to realign our federal government and reduce wasteful spending. We’ve heard a lot of news about tariffs, elimination of federal agencies, and job cuts across the federal government, but little has been detailed about the negative impacts on the fire service and the ripple effect it will have on all aspects of our economy.
Fire department grant impacts
I spoke with a fire chief from a volunteer department just south of Pittsburgh. His department was awarded an AFG grant of more than $300,000 to buy PPE. He followed all of the purchasing guidance and selected a vendor. The vendor delivered the PPE, and the chief submitted the request to draw down funds to pay the vendor. That happened at the end of January. He has been waiting for over 70 days to pay the vendor. His department doesn’t have this much money to cover the vendor’s costs until FEMA decides to approve his draw.
I heard from another chief in Pennsylvania whose department received a 2023 SAFER Grant for a Regional Recruiting and Retention program. His program had an extremely successful first year. The partnering departments were able to recruit 75 new members. Many of these firefighters have completed their Essentials of Fire Fighting Class. Some have moved forward and attained Firefighter I certification. He too is waiting on a draw that he submitted at the end of January. To compound his issue, this is a four-year program, and the partnering departments are continuing to recruit new members. Those members are completing NFPA-compliant physicals and require new turnout gear. The medical practices that are conducting the physicals haven’t been paid and are threatening to withhold any additional physicals. The vendors aren’t being paid for the turnout gear they sold to these departments, and the marketing firm that developed this successful recruiting approach hasn’t been paid for three months. The regional departments have called a meeting for the end of this month to decide if they want to pause the program because they don’t have any clear guidance on its future.
Impact on vendors and suppliers
Countless vendors and suppliers have been impacted by recent changes to grant funding allocations. One example is TheFireStore (Witmer Public Safety). Kevin Moul, vice president of outside fire sales, explained to me that vendors like TheFireStore are being hit from two sides. For one, fire departments are not able to pay them because they aren’t able to draw down funds on their grant awards. TheFireStore’s normal policy is net 30 days, and this has worked well in the past. Moul said, “Mr. Witmer has been gracious and told us if we receive goods from manufacturers, then we are to continue to send them out to the fire departments that ordered them. I don’t know how long we can continue to do this because at some point, everybody is going to want to be paid.” Moul stated that their accounts receivable has now eclipsed $5 million.
Additionally, related to the recent tariffs, Moul stated that TheFireStore experienced 24 price increases from manufacturers during the month of March. This was on top of price increases that already occurred at the beginning of the year. Moul attributes the increases to new tariff rates imposed by the United States over the past few weeks.
TheFireStore has scored some small victories in their daily battle with U.S. Customs officials. In one situation, TheFireStore was able to get the tariffs withdrawn on a Circul-Air Corp. Roto-Decon SCBA Extractor for a department in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Circul-Air’s manufacturing facility is in Ontario, Canada, but the SCBA Decon Extractor is manufactured utilizing parts made in the United States. The fire department in this situation would have paid a tariff of $6,235 to bring the unit across the border.
I also learned of a massive price increase from tariffs related to Mercedes hose. Specifically, $7 million worth of its hose was sitting in Canada awaiting delivery to fire departments in the U.S. Between the time the hose was ordered to now, the United States slapped a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada. The new tariff on that hose – $1.75 million.
The good news: On April 9, President Trump announced a 90-day suspension of all reciprocal tariffs except with the exception of China.
Advocacy and action
We hear stories about the increased cost of housing, automobiles and groceries, but there isn’t much being said about the negative financial effect that the increased tariffs and the freeze on grant payments are having on the crucial services provided by first responders. It’s time for the fire service to make this situation known to their elected officials and to the people they serve.
Fire service organizations are encouraging members to make their voice heard about how recent government actions are impacting firefighters. Visit CFSI’s NFA Action Center for talking points and guidance on reaching out to Congress and the administration. And fill out the CFSI survey focused on the impact of AFG and SAFER grants.
