In the event of an emergency, communities rely on first responders for aid. However, if crucial public buildings, like fire stations, aren’t up to current seismic code, the first responders themselves are in danger and may be unable to serve the needs of their communities. Federal grants provide the necessary funding to obtain seismic retrofits to keep such facilities safer.
The Importance Of Seismic Rehabilitation For Emergency Responders
It’s critical that first responders are able to perform emergency functions, and in areas with seismic activity, part of how they can do that is by increasing buildings’ capabilities to withstand earthquake forces. Seismic retrofits are not luxuries, but necessities, for the safety of all in the community.
Seismic retrofitting is the process of strengthening buildings to make them more resistant to earthquake damage. It can be done structurally and to nonstructural systems, such as mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems. This process includes measures such as adding reinforcement to unreinforced masonry walls, adding new lateral-load resisting elements, strengthening weak connections, and more. Non-structurally, this includes measures such as seismic bracing and seismic anchorage.
The point of seismic retrofits is to improve life-safety measures, minimize financial losses, and facilitate quicker and more cost-effective post-disaster recovery. Critical public buildings, like fire stations, must meet performance requirements so that continued operations can be conducted following a seismic event.
Grants provide funds for seismic retrofitting of such buildings. First responders can obtain a variety of grants, such as pre-disaster mitigation grants, firefighter grants, emergency medical services grants, and more. To achieve success and win a grant, it’s important to work with an experienced grant writer who coordinates with the client in order to develop a grant that meets client needs, project execution goals, and schedule and budget limitations.
The Needs Of One Of VIE’s Fire Station Grant Writing Projects
The United Fire Authority conducted a seismic risk analysis of its 25 fire stations, which were built over the past 40 years to varying levels of seismic standards. 5 of these stations were scheduled for near term replacement while the other 20 were evaluated for expected performance during a seismic event.
These seismic evaluations determined that 15 fire stations met seismic criteria, while the other 5 required seismic retrofitting. In addition to this, it was determined that even the fire stations that did not require structural retrofits needed non-structural retrofitting done.
Such seismic retrofits were important to protect not only the occupants of the fire stations, but also, the communities the fire stations served. The entire community benefits from fire stations that are more resilient to earthquake events.
All-Encompassing Grants To Streamline Processes
Rather than writing multiple grants to try to accomplish seismic retrofit needs, an experienced grant writer can streamline the process through writing an all-encompassing grant. This makes the process of getting the grant approved and the project completed much more efficient.
How VIE Streamlined The Grant Process For UFA
The United Fire Authority retained VIE for our grant writing services. We wrote an all-encompassing grant to do seismic retrofits of multiple fire stations in one grant. The grant was approved, and over the next 3 years, UFA selected and utilized general contractors to do all seismic retrofits.
Ensuring The Success Of The Grant
Once the grant is written and won, the process does not end there. Grant management ensures the success of the grant by coordinating amongst parties involved. This involves everything from negotiation of the final contract with the funding entity to grant performance to financial management, and finally, to grant closeout.
Achieving Results On-Time And Under-Budget
While VIE did not do any design work on this project, VIE coordinated it with Utah, UFA, and FEMA throughout the construction process to ensure the success of the grant. The total budget was about 2.6 million dollars, but all work was completed about $200,000 under budget, on-time and on-schedule.
Grant Writing, Benefit-Cost Analysis, And Grant Management Services In The United States
VIE provides grant writing, benefit-cost analysis, and grant management services in the United States. We actively research the status of grant programs as part of our business. We study all aspects of a project to determine if and all grant funds that may be available. Successful grant writing can be the key to a project being delayed, canceled, or moving forward. VIE’s grant-win success rate exceeds 90%.
To learn more about our grant writing services or any of the other seismic engineering services that we provide, please do not hesitate to contact us today.
