Governor Jeb Bush has proclaimed a State of Emergency regarding the following Fire Declarations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement (SMAA), supercedes inter-local agreements between State Agencies and/or political subdivisions of the State regarding mutual aid assistance. Of the 14 State Division of Forestry (DOF) Fire Districts, three districts have Fire Suppression Declarations for which FEMA/State assistance is available. The eligible incident period for claiming reimbursement of eligible costs, for each of the below-listed DOF Fire Districts, is from the Approved date through the Closed date.

DOF Fire District
Declared Counties
FSA
Incident Period
Lakeland
Hillsborough, Polk, Pinellas
2353
2/18/01 - 6/25/01
Okeechobee Glades, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, St Lucie
2354
2/19/01 - 6/18/01
Caloosahatchee Collier, Hendry, Lee
2355
2/19/01 - 6/22/01
Orlando Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Seminole
2357
4/16/01 - 6/26/01
Myakka Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Manatee, Sarasota
2358
4/18/01 - 6/26/01
Miami-Dade
Monroe		 Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward, Palm Beach
2359
4/25/01 - 6/1/01
Chipola Walton, Washington
2360
5/14/01 - 6/12/01
Escambia Escambia
2361
5/15/01 - 6/7/01
Perry Dixie, Lafayette
2363
5/23/01 - 6/26/01

State Reimbursements to SMAA Assisting Parties: The State is the eligible Applicant in the FEMA Fire Suppression Program as per FEMA policy. Political subdivisions of the State are not eligible for such direct assistance. However, mutual aid assistance provided to the State under the SMAA by political subdivisions may be reimbursable depending upon legislative appropriation of funds for Fire Suppression emergencies. Claims by SMAA Assisting Parties to the State should be submitted as per the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM) reimbursement guidelines for mutual aid assisting parties and further clarified as follows:

  1. A State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Mission Number is required for each submitted Claim. Parties requesting aid should make mutual aid requests through the State Warning Point by radio or by phone at 1-800-320-0519; or 850-413-9900. State EOC Mission Numbers are assigned to each mutual aid request for assistance transmitted through the State EOC. If local jurisdictions are responding to Wildfires within their own jurisdiction or County, an EOC Mission Number should be obtained. All such fire suppression activities may be eligible for FEMA/State reimbursement under a State EOC Mission Number during an eligible Incident Period for an applicable FEMA Fire Declaration. If an Assisting Party responds directly to a request from other than through the State EOC, the State EOC should be notified by the Requesting Party to obtain an EOC Mission Number at the earliest convenient time. In-County State EOC Mission Numbers, and numbers for missions not requested through the State EOC, may be obtained from the State Fire Marshall, Randy Napoli, at (352) 732-1330.
  2. A separate claim is required for each EOC Mission Number after completion of the mission. Costs within the eligible Incident Period for the Fire Declaration should be shown separately from costs before or after the Incident Period. Mobilization, Demobilization, and Mop-up Costs outside the eligible Incident should also be separately identified.
  3. Firefighting costs outside the eligible Incident Period will not be eligible for State reimbursement except for post-Incident Period mop-up and demobilization activities.
  4. Reimbursements to SMAA Assisting Party costs to DOF requests for assistance, prior to the Fire Declaration dates may be governed by existing inter-local agreement between DOF and local jurisdictions within a particular DOF Fire District. These agreements usually provide that there will be no compensation required. However, claims for DOF-requested services provided from outside the DOF Fire District may be reimbursable.

Claim Review and Approval Process: Each submitted SMAA Claim will be reviewed by DCA Recovery and be presented to the established Fire Suppression Committee (with representation from DCA, DOI, DOF, USFS) for final recommendation of approval in the FEMA Fire Suppression Program. The State Department of Insurance (DOI) will directly pay SMAA Claims that are recommended for payment. The State Division of Forestry (DOF) will directly pay SMAA Assisting Party claims that are not eligible for FEMA Fire Suppression Program assistance, but are eligible for State payment.

Further reimbursement Guidelines for Assisting Parties under the Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement are available at: SMAA Assisting Party Claim Guidance

Claim Forms: The following forms are available for download in WordPerfect (WPD), MS Word (DOC) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format:

Mutual Aid Responder Claim Narrative
Total Expense Summary (Work Completed To-Date)
Force Account Labor Expense Summary
Force Account Equipment Expense Summary
Materials Expense Summary
Contract Work Expense Summary
Rented Equipment Expense Summary
Travel Expense Summary

Labor Related Forms:

Applicant's Fringe Benefits Calculation Worksheet
Firefighter Overtime Pay Policy Certification for 24-hour/day Pay

Equipment Rates:

State Emergency Equipment Rate Schedule
FEMA Equipment Rate Schedule

Applicant-owned Aircraft Rate Determination Worksheet

Fire Suppression Claim Submission: All Fire Suppression Claims for reimbursement by the State are to be submitted to:

Craig Fugate, Governor's Authorized Representative
Attn: Charles Bartel, Bureau of Recovery
2555 Shumard Oak Blvd
Tallahassee, FL 32399

EMAIL: Charles.Bartel@dca.state.fl.us

FAX: 850-487-2007

HOTLINE Assistance Phone: 850-414-7566