The following criteria are used by the agency to determine eligibility for grant awards.
  (1) TIFMAS Grants.
    (A) When determining eligibility for a part-paid fire department, a part-time paid position is counted as one-half of a full-time paid position.
    (B) Applications for assistance for trucks and other equipment are rated based upon a standardized numeric system that considers the following factors: total number of TIFMAS qualified personnel, past statewide deployments, department reporting to TXFIRS and FireConnect, and number of firefighters holding Strike Team Engine (STEN), Engine Boss (ENGB), and Firefighter Type 1/Incident Commander Type 5 (FF1/ICT5) qualifications.
    (C) The agency may limit the maximum amount of grant funds a fire department can receive per year to ensure a wider distribution of the funds.
  (2) VFD Assistance Grants.
    (A) When determining eligibility for a part-paid fire department:
      (i) A paid position includes any combination of paid fire, EMS, administrative and support staff employed by a fire department or other entity of local government to fulfill an emergency service or supporting function.
      (ii) A part-time paid position is counted as one-half of a full-time paid position.
    (B) Applications for assistance are rated based upon a standardized numeric system that considers the following factors: years in existence, size of the primary protection area, population of the primary protection area, distance to the nearest viable mutual aid department, age of the application and wildfire risk. For apparatus grants, the current age of apparatus to be replaced with grant funded apparatus will be considered.
    (C) The agency may award vehicle and equipment grants to eligible fire departments to assist in meeting matching requirements for federal grants. Applications for federal grant matching assistance are rated upon a standardized numeric system that considers the following factors: size of the department, annual budget and source of revenue and the amount the department would benefit from the grant.
    (D) The agency may limit the maximum amount of grant funds a fire department can receive per year to ensure a wider distribution of the funds.

Source Note: The provisions of this §216.5 adopted to be effective September 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 6537; amended to be effective November 10, 2019, 44 TexReg 6519; amended to be effective March 20, 2023, 48 TexReg 1554