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Oxnard fire chief seeks council ratification of about $2.1 million in FEMA grant applications
Summary
The Oxnard Fire Department asked a council committee to recommend ratifying four FEMA grant applications totaling roughly $2.1 million to buy 21 SCBAs, fund paramedic and urban search-and-rescue training, and install 2,500 smoke alarms; any required local match would be appropriated after awards are announced.
The Oxnard Fire Department asked the Community Services, Public Safety, Housing and Development Committee to recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution ratifying four FEMA grant applications that together total just over $2.1 million, a department representative said.
The request, presented by the Fire Chief of the Oxnard Fire Department, seeks funding through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and the Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) programs administered by FEMA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The applications would fund training and equipment purchases — including 21 self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) — and a smoke-alarm installation program for residents.
The applications include three AFG requests totaling $1,908,421.72 (with a stated local match of $173,492.89) to support paramedic and regional urban search-and-rescue training and to purchase 21 SCBAs, and one FP&S request for $211,406.64 (including a $10,066.98 match) to buy and install 2,500 smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors plus 15 specialized detectors for people who are hard of hearing.
"This year the solicitation window was very short," the Fire Chief said, noting the FY25 notice opened May 19, 2026, and closed June 22, 2026, which is why staff filed applications before seeking formal ratification. The chief added that nationwide pools for the programs appear smaller this year: "FEMA will award more than $291,000,000 through AFG and more than $32,000,000 through FP&S," and, "This is the smallest these numbers have been, in probably 15 years."
The department said a paramedic training application would fund education and state licensing for 10 firefighters to upgrade from EMT to paramedic level, increasing local emergency medical capacity. The FP&S application focuses on community risk reduction: department staff said the program would fund public outreach and installation of roughly 2,500 smoke alarms to continue a long-running smoke-alarm program — the presenter noted the city has installed "over 15,000 of those" to date.
Regional coordination is part of the requests. The AFG applications include funding to cover station coverage and overtime while members of Regional Task Force 7 meet training standards in disciplines such as confined-space rescue, rope rescue, structural collapse and swift-water rescue.
On the financial side, the presenter said the combined grant requests are "just over $2,100,000" with a potential total local match requirement of $183,559.87 and emphasized that the city will return to the City Council to request appropriations for any local match only if the grant awards are received. The presenter told the committee that grant award notices are anticipated in fall 2026 and that, "by statute, they are supposed to all be awarded by September 30 at the latest." If awarded, grant activities would begin in fiscal year 2026–27 and the expected performance period is 24 months.
The presenter closed by offering to answer questions from the committee or the public. No formal vote or council appropriation was recorded in the meeting; the committee was asked to recommend the resolution for Council consideration if it so chooses.
