661—265.51(100) Local fire protection and emergency medical service providers grant program. The local fire protection and emergency medical service providers grant program is established by the state fire marshal. The grant program shall be funded with only those moneys from the consumer fireworks fee fund which are not needed by the state fire marshal to fulfill the responsibilities of the state fire marshal for the administration and enforcement of Iowa Code sections 100.19 and 100.19A.
	265.51(1) Definitions. The following definitions apply to Division VI.
“Emergency medical services” means the same as defined in Iowa Code section 147A.1(5).
“Fire protection service” means volunteer or paid fire departments.
	265.51(2) Authorized applicants. Any local fire protection service provider or local emergency medical service provider in the state of Iowa may apply for grant funds from the local fire protection and emergency medical service providers grant program.
	265.51(3) Authorized purposes of grant funds. The grant funds in the local fire protection and emergency medical service providers grant program may only be used for the following:
	a. 	To establish or provide fireworks safety education programming to members of the public.
	b. 	To purchase necessary enforcement, protection, or emergency response equipment related to the sale and use of consumer fireworks in this state.
	265.51(4) Application. The application for grant funds shall be made to the state fire marshal. The application form may be found at dps.iowa.gov/divisions/state-fire-marshal/consumer-fireworks-licensing. Applications must be received on or before June 30 of each year. The application shall include all of the following:
	a. 	The application shall be signed by a person who is an official, owner, or another person who has authorization to sign on behalf of the fire protection service or the emergency medical service provider entity.
	b. 	The specifics of the proposed use of the grant funds.
	(1)	If the application is for equipment, the applicant should include a detailed description of the equipment, the company or entity from which the purchase will be made, the cost, and a justification as to how this equipment purchase fits the purposes of the grant program.
	(2)	If the application is for safety education programming, the application shall include a detailed description of the programming, the specific people who will be providing the programming, and a description of the materials to be purchased and used.
	c. 	The amount of grant funds requested.
	265.51(5) Approval of application. The state fire marshal shall review the application and determine whether to make the award of grant funds. The state fire marshal has the sole discretion in determining whether or not to award funds from the grant program to the applicant and the amount of funds awarded to each applicant. Factors to be considered in making an award of grant funds include, but are not limited to:
	a. 	The amount of grant funds available.
	b. 	The number of applicants for grant funds.
	c. 	The proposed use of the grant funds and whether the use is consistent with the approved program purposes.
	d. 	Whether the applicant has previously been approved for grant funds from this program.
	e. 	The applicant’s use of any previous grant funds received from the program.
	265.51(6) Report required. All grant recipients shall file a report with the state fire marshal that lists the amount of grant funds received and the purpose(s) for which the grant funds were spent. The state fire marshal may conduct an inspection or audit to determine compliance with the rules and purposes of the grant program, in addition to any other authorized audits.
[ARC 3124C, IAB 6/21/17, effective 5/31/17; ARC 3592C, IAB 1/17/18, effective 2/21/18; ARC 5255C, IAB 11/4/20, effective 12/9/20]