FY25 FEMA AFG Is Open: Guide to Writing A Successful Grant Request For Breathing Air Solutions

On May 19, 2026, FEMA officially opened the application period for the FY25 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, putting $291.6 million on the table for critical equipment, vehicles, and training.

Things to quickly be aware of this year are:

• Shorter Application Period: The application period is only open from May 19, 2026 - June 22, 2026. This is shorter than in previous years.
• Breathing Air Equipment Priority Level: Only High (H) priority equipment items will be considered for funding for FY25.

Critical FEMA Grant Rule Shift To Be Aware Of

This year, FEMA has instituted a strict funding constraint: only High (H) priority equipment items will be considered for funding

• Standalone Fire Departments: Requests for breathing air equipment like a breathing air compressor, SCBA fill station, or all-in-one units, fall under the Medium (M) priority. Since this is not a High (H) priority under this year’s rules, individual department compressor grants will not be funded
• Regional Applicants & SFTAs: If you apply as a Regional Applicant (a joint application serving multiple jurisdictions) or as a State Fire Training Academy (SFTA), the same equipment is elevated to a High (H) priority and WILL be considered for funding.

However, don’t lose hope. There are ways to collaborate with your community to get a valid application in!

Meeting FY25 AFG Equipment Requirements: Partner with Neighboring Jurisdictions

One way that departments are meeting their breathing air equipment needs is by partnering with neighboring departments

• Identify a Host: Choose one department with a clean SAM.gov status and an active FEMA GO account to act as the primary applicant and fiscal agent.
• Gather Your Partners: Lock in agreements with neighboring volunteer or career departments. The more departments that sign on to rely on this new shared air system, the stronger the application becomes.
• The "Multiplier Effect" Narrative: When writing your Statement of Effect, focus heavily on how a centralized, high-output breathing air system doesn’t just protect one city's roster, it secures clean, NFPA-compliant breathing air for three, four, or five surrounding communities

Breathing Air Equipment That Meets The AFG Requirements This Year

Regional Applicants

Easiest Case - ALL POWER Mobile Air Trailer

Our ALL POWER Mobile Air Trailer is the perfect fit for this cycle for regional applicants. With a full system setup for mobile breathing air, the ALL POWER can easily be towed by most common fleet vehicles to service several neighboring departments. It can be easily positioned as a shared mutual-aid asset for an entire county, or at least several additional departments.

Classic Equipment - Stationary Breathing Air

While stationary breathing air systems require a bit more coordination for regional sharing than mobile units, they remain a highly competitive option if your department features a centrally located station. By positioning your station as a regional hub, neighboring departments can easily access and refill their SCBAs, fulfilling the regional sharing intent of the AFG program.

State Fire Training Academies (SFTAs)

Since SFTAs fall under the High (H) priority for the FY25 AFG, the floor is yours to make a good case for the equipment. Common equipment our SFTA customers enjoy include:

• ALL POWER Mobile Air Trailer
  • Easy to tow to an offsite training location to fill SCBAs on-scene
  • Quiet and easy to communicate while in-use
  • All-electric, so no diesel fumes
  • Can fill 2 - 4 SCBAs simultaneously, depending on the configuration
  • 6000 PSI performance
• 2500 Series Compressor and Triple Auto-Cascade Fill Station
  • Fill 3 SCBAs simultaneously
  • 6000 PSI performance
  • Automatic-cascading = less training
• Superior 7K All-In-One
  • Fill 4 SCBAs simultaneously
  • Up to 7000 PSI performance - perfect for topping off those 5500 PSI SCBAs
  • SimpleFill™ Tech - 20-second operator training!

Non-negotiable Homework

• Be sure your SAM.gov & FEMA GO accounts are up to date: Verify your accounts now.
• Conduct a Risk Assessment: Evaluate your current compressor’s age, air quality test failures, and whether your fill station lacks modern containment armor.
• Poll vendors to start determining costs: FEMA explicitly advises departments to contact vendors before completing their application to determine precise, real-world costs. Don’t guess on your budget numbers. Inflated or unrealistic figures can hurt your score.
• Download the official grant application checklist: Gather your fleet metrics, and run department data.
• Download the Operations and Safety Self-Evaluation sheet: Breathing Air Compressors fall under Operations and Safety Self-Evaluation sheet. This sheet outlines exact criteria peer reviewers use to grade your four narrative blocks.

Tips for the Four Scored Sections of Your Narrative

Your FEMA peer reviewers score applications based on four core narrative fields. Be sure to tell YOUR story with your own words and realities. Don’t rely on AI to write it for you.

Financial Need

DON’T: Say “We are a small department with no money,” no matter how true it may be.

DO: Quantify your budget issues. Cite your local tax base, recent municipal budget freezes, and unexpected emergency expenditure. Contrast a stagnant budget with costs of a critical life-safety capital expense like a breathing air system.

Project Description and Budget

DON’T: Don’t just ask for an “air pump”.

DO: Be highly technical and precise. Specify exactly what you need. For example: “A 6,000+ PSI high-pressure breathing air compressor equipped with an advanced multi-stage purification system, automated CO monitoring, and an NFPA-compliant containment fill station designed to mitigate catastrophic cylinder fragmentation risks.”

Cost-Benefit Analysis

DO: Prove that federal dollars will be used efficiently. Calculate the hidden costs of keeping an old compressor alive, such as continuous maintenance fees, specialized repair parts, and the cost of fuel/wear-and-tear when firefighters have to drive 15 miles to a neighboring town to fill SCBA cylinders because the station system is down.

Statement of Effect

DO: Connect the new compressor directly to firefighter health and safety. Focus heavily on two pillars:

• Contamination Prevention: protecting firefighters from carcinogens, moisture, and CO in their air supply.
• Operator Safety: moving from dangerous, open-frame loading to an armored containment fill station that protects the operator during high-pressure filling.

How Arctic Can Help Support Your FY25 AFG Application

Arctic Compressor works closely with Fire Departments and SFTAs across the country every year to help Chiefs complete their AFG applications. Here’s how we can help:

• Supply turnkey engineering specs
• Provide rapid, formal quotes with accurate pricing structures that fit cleanly into the FY25 guidelines
• Our Truly American-Made™ Arctic systems are built in Superior, WI, complying perfectly with federal domestic procurement preferences

If you need help preparing your grant application, we recommend you visit firehousegrants.com.

What Happens If You Don’t Get the Grant?

Every year, departments hope for the best outcome by being awarded an AFG grant. However, sometimes it doesn’t come through. But, that doesn’t mean your need for the equipment goes away. Alternative funding sources to AFG are available at clp.net and nppgov.com. Find out more on our Funding Resources Center

The FY25 AFG application period closes on June 22, 2026. Don’t wait to get started on your application Contact Arctic Compressor today to get equipment specifications and formal quotes to complete your application package.

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