Matching Assistance to Firefighters Grants to the Reported Needs of the U.S. Fire Service

摘要

As part of the second needs assessment of the U.S. fire service, a rough comparison was made between needs reported in the first needs assessment survey and resources requested and granted to the same fire departments in 2001-2004 under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. Separately, each category of need was examined to see whether needs identified in the first needs assessment survey had been reduced in the second needs assessment survey. The criterion for a reduction sufficient to justify recognition in the text was set at 5 percent or 5 percentage points (e.g., 20 percent vs. 15 percent), as appropriate. This analysis was not limited to departments that received grants but was based on all reporting departments. Note that a difference of 5 percentage points may not be statistically significant when all sources of error (e.g., sampling, non-response) are included. These comparisons are useful as indicators but should not be treated as definitive.