Any fire service in any State which believes it has a claim(s) cognizable under section 11 shall submit its claim(s) in writing within 90 days of the occurrence of the fire(s) for which a claim(s) is made. If the fire is of such duration that the claimant desires to submit a claim before its conclusion, it may do so, but only for the eligible costs actually incurred to date. Additional claims may be filed for costs later incurred. Claims shall be submitted to the Administrator, FEMA, Washington, DC, 20472. Each claim shall include the following information:

(a) Name, address, jurisdiction and nature (volunteer, private, municipal, etc.) of claimant's fire service organization;

(b) Name, title, address and telephone number of individual authorized by the claimant fire service to make this claim in its behalf and his/her certification as to the accuracy of the information provided;

(c) Name and telephone number of Federal employee familiar with the facts of the event and the name and address of the Federal agency having jurisdiction over the property on which the fire occurred;

(d) Proof of authority to fight the fire (source of alarm, whether fire service was requested by responsible Federal official or whether such an official accepted the assistance when offered);

(e) Personnel and equipment committed to fighting of fire (type of equipment and number of items); and an itemized list of direct expenses (e.g., hours of equipment operation, fuel costs, consumables, overtime pay and wages for any specially hired personnel) and direct losses (e.g., damaged or destroyed equipment, to include purchase cost, estimate of the cost of repairs, statement of depreciated value immediately preceding and subsequent to the damage or destruction and the extent of insurance coverage) actually incurred in fighting the fire. A statement should be included explaining why each such expense or loss is considered by the claimant not be a normal operating cost, or to be in excess of normal operating costs;

(f) Copy of fire report which includes the location of the fire, a description of the property burned, the time of alarm, etc.;

(g) Such other information or documentation as the Administrator considers relevant to those considerations to be made in determining the amount authorized for payment, as set forth in § 151.12 of these regulations;

(h) Source and amount of any payments received or to be received for the fiscal year in which the fire occurred, including taxes or payments in lieu of taxes and including all monies received or receivable from the United States through any program or agreement including categorical or block grants, and contracts, by the claimant fire service or its parent jurisdiction for the support of fire services on the property on which the fire occurred. If this information is available when the claim is submitted, it should accompany the claim. If it is not, the information should be submitted as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 days after the end of the Federal fiscal year in which the fire occurred.

(a) The Administrator shall determine the amount to be paid on a claim (subject to payment by the Department of the Treasury). The amount to be paid is the total of eligible expenses, costs and losses under paragraph (a)(1) of this section which exceeds the amount of payments under paragraph (a)(2) of this section. The Administrator shall establish the reimbursable amount by determining:

(1) The extent to which the fire service incurred additional firefighting costs, over and above its normal operating costs, in connection with the fire which is the subject of the claim, i.e., the “amount of costs”; and

(2) What payments, if any, including taxes or payments in lieu of taxes, the fire service or its parent jurisdiction has received from the United States for the support of fire services on the property on which the fire occurred.

(b) The Administrator will first determine the costs as contemplated in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. The Administrator will then notify the claimant as to that amount. The claimant must indicate within 30 days its acceptance or rejection of that amount.

(1) If the determination is accepted by the claimant, this will be the final and conclusive determination of the amount of costs by the claimant in conjunction with the fire for which the claims are submitted.

(2) If the claimant rejects this amount, it must notify the Administrator, within 30 days, of its reasons for its rejection. Upon receipt of notification of rejection, the Administrator shall reconsider his determination and notify the claimant of the results of the reconsideration. The amount determined on reconsideration will constitute the costs to be used by the Administrator in determining the reimbursable amount.

(c) Upon receipt of documentation from the claimant on the amount of payments the Federal Government has made for the support of fire services on the property in question, the Administrator will, following such verification or investigation as the Administrator may deem appropriate, calculate the full amount to be reimbursed under the section 11 formula as set forth in § 151.12(a). This calculation of the reimbursable amount is based upon the costs determined pursuant to § 151.12(b) and the documentation of Federal payments that the claimant submitted.

(d) The Administrator's determination of the reimbursable amount will be sent to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury shall, upon receipt of the claim and determination made under § 151.12 (a), (b), and (c), determine the amount authorized for payment, which shall be the amount actually available for payment from any monies in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated but subject to reimbursement (from any appropriations which may be available or which may be made available for the purpose) by the Federal department or agency under whose jurisdiction the fire occurred. This shall be a sum no greater, although it may be less, that the reimbursable amount determined by the Administrator, FEMA, with respect to the claim under § 151.12 (a), (b) and (c).

(e) Upon receipt of written notification from the claimant of its intention to accept the amount authorized as full settlement of the claim, accompanied by a properly executed document of release, the Administrator will forward the claim, a copy of the Administrator's determination and the claimant's document of release to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment of the claim in the amount authorized.

(f) Subject to the discovery of additional material evidence, the Administrator may reconsider any determination in this section, whether or not made as his final determination.

(a) If the claimant elects to protest the amount authorized for payment, after the applicable procedures of § 151.12 have been followed, it must within 30 days of receipt of notification of the amount authorized notify the Administrator in writing of its objections and set forth the reasons why the Administrator should reconsider the determination. The Administrator will upon notice of protest and receipt of additional evidence reconsider the determination of the amount of Federal payments under § 151.12(a)(2) but not the determination of the amount of costs under § 151.12(a)(1). The Administrator shall cause a reconsideration by the Secretary of the Treasury of the amount actually available and authorized for payment by the Treasury. The Administrator, upon receipt of the Secretary of the Treasury's reconsidered determination, will notify the claimant in writing of the amount authorized, upon reconsideration, for payment in full settlement of the claim.

(b) If the claimant elects to accept the amount authorized, upon reconsideration, for payment in full settlement of its claims, it must within 30 days (or a longer period of time acceptable to the Administrator) of its receipt of that determination notify the Administrator of its acceptance in writing accompanied by a properly executed document of release. Upon receipt of such notice and document of release, the Administrator will forward the claim, a copy of the Administrator's final determination, and the claimant's document of release to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment of the claim in the amount of final authorization.

If the claimant, after written notice by the Administrator of the amount authorized for payment in full settlement of the claim and after all applicable procedures of §§ 151.12 and 151.13 have been followed elects to dispute the amount authorized, it may then initiate action in the United States Claims Court, which shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim and enter judgment in accordance with section 11(d) of the Act.