Staff outlines new reporting requirements and reimbursement process; commission seeks a single county grants contact

A staff member told the Lancaster County Fire Commission that the county’s reporting and training module has added required fields and more validation checks; users will see red boxes where additional information must be entered before reports can be completed.

The staff member walked commissioners through common data-entry quirks and troubleshooting steps, noting one example where a two-story structure required entering a zero for below-grade levels to allow the report to save. The staff member urged anyone with problems to call for assistance and demonstrated how to filter reports by individual FDI number to avoid viewing other departments’ reports.

On data security the staff member warned against sharing usernames and passwords: “If you give that to anybody… I’m going to hit the reset button and have you reset your password because obviously if you’re not—you’re saying you’re not doing it and somebody’s doing it,” the staff member said.

The commission also discussed reimbursement and matching-fund mechanics for equipment purchases: staff explained departments must submit matching funds that get deposited before the county can issue purchase orders and that the deposit-to-availability timeline can take about 60 days in practice.

Members discussed an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) application for an extractor and a hose-dryer and asked who the county grant coordinator is. Staff said the county has a grant employee but much grant work routes through other agencies; commissioners asked that the commission office serve as a central liaison so individual departments do not each contact county personnel directly.

Next steps: staff will provide the contact information for the county grant person and continue to offer troubleshooting support for the reporting module.