Our mission is to advise the commissioner of public safety with respect to funding needed for identified activities and programs of the Minnesota fire service.  

The advisory committee shall provide funding recommendations for the following purposes:

• Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education
• For programs and staffing for The State Fire Marshal Division
• Fire service-related programs that have potential for statewide impact
• Other fire service programs that have the potential for statewide impact 

Funding criteria

FSAC will use the following values as criteria for considering proposals for funding.

Public safety through operational effectiveness and community risk reduction: Programs and initiatives should positively impact effective fire service operations and/or community risk reduction.  Funding decisions will be based on rational risk assessment principles.

Firefighter safety: Programs and initiatives should significantly improve life safety and wellness for firefighters.  This may include addressing immediate and/or chronic safety and health risk factors.

Statewide impact: Programs or initiatives should have statewide, or at least broad regional, impact. FSAC funding decisions overall must serve all of Minnesota, and not benefit any one region disproportionally.  Therefore, individual proposals may be considered within the context of other funding decisions to maintain benefit equity.

Fiscal and operational sustainability and efficiency of programs: Programs or initiatives must reflect sound stewardship of FSA resources, linking expenditures to measurable or observable benefits.

Priority for existing, effective programs: FSAC will prioritize maintaining existing, functionally effective programs above funding new programs or initiatives.

Priority for fire service agencies: All things being equal, FSAC will prioritize funding requests from Department of Public Safety divisions or fire departments above requests from other agencies or organizations.

Additional operational considerations 

FSAC will use the above funding criteria when considering any proposals. With respect to funding priorities, FSAC regards the categories established by statute to be primary and of equal importance. 

The categories are: 

• Training and education funded through the Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education
• The State Fire Marshal division
• Fire service-related regional response teams

Consideration will also be given to other fire service programs that have the potential for statewide impact, based on available funding. 

FSAC will consider requests for funding that cover capital and/or operational expenses. Funding requests to FSAC must include a business plan.  If capital expenditures are involved, an appropriately scoped capital plan must be included.  

Any future expectations for Fire Safety Account funding related to that program should also be explicitly noted in that plan. 

Presentations to the committee for funding

• Anyone wanting to request funding from the Fire Service Advisory Committee will need to have their request and supporting materials submitted in writing to the Committee Chair at least twenty business days, (does not include weekends and holidays), prior to the designated Committee meeting date for presentations.
  • The Committee will designate one meeting each calendar year for one-time presentations and one meeting every two years for base budget presentations.
    • June is designated as the one-time funding presentation meeting. 
    • August of the even year will be designated as the base budget funding presentation meeting. 
  • The committee will designate a time limit for each presentation requested.
    • Each one-time funding presentation has a time limit of 10 minutes to present and five minutes for questions from the committee. 
    • Each base budget funding presentation has a time limit of 15 minutes to present and five minutes for questions from the committee. 
  • No presentations will be accepted at any other meeting due to discussion time needed by the committee to distribute funding according to the mission set forth. 
    • Due to the volume of presentations and the time frame for allocating funding, any organization that cannot make their time or date will not be rescheduled.
• Anyone wishing to present to the Committee will have to bring enough handouts, documents or supporting information to give each member of the committee, administrative person and four extra copies for public viewing.
• The Fire Service Advisory Committee reserves the right to reject, partially-, or wholly- fund any project or presentation. 
• Base budget presentations must be requested within the statutory priorities for the Fire Safety Account (State Fire Marshal division, State Response Teams or Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education)
• All organizations that are awarded funding by the Fire Service Advisory Committee shall submit a written report regarding the use of those funds annually.