Staff Report
City Council
Item No. 3.G
Meeting Date: October 14, 2026
From: Michael Contreras, Fire Chief
Title: Acceptance of FY 2025 AFG Grant for Fire Station 2 Fire Sprinkler System Retrofit Project
RECOMMENDATION:
To adopt a resolution entitled:
A resolution by the City Council of the City of Cathedral City, California accepting the fiscal year 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant, Award No. EMW-2025-FG-04668, for the Fire Station 2 fire sprinkler system retrofit project, and authorizing the City Manager to execute all related documents
Accepting the FY2025 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), Award No. EMW-2025- FG-04668, in the amount of $90,909.09 for a fire sprinkler system at Fire Station 2, approving the required $9,090.91 local match from the Fire Department FY 2026/27 operating budget, and authorizing the City Manager, or designee, to accept the award and execute all related grant documents.
BACKGROUND:
On September 22, 2026, FEMA notified the city that its FY 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant application submitted by Cathedral City Fire & EMS (CCFE) was approved for award.
The grant funds a first-time automatic fire sprinkler system at Fire Station 2, a 39-year old, continuously occupied fire station with sleeping quarters that have never had automatic fire suppression protection. FEMA requires the award to be accepted or declined in the FEMA GO system within thirty days of notification, making the acceptance deadline October 22, 2026. Council action on October 14, 2026 allows the award to be accepted before that deadline. This action is limited to accepting the award and approving the required $9,090.91 grant match from the Fire Department budget.
Fire Station 2, located at 32100 Desert Vista Road, was constructed in September 1987 and has not undergone a major renovation since it was built. The facility comprises approximately 9,600 square feet of interior space: approximately 3,000 square feet of apparatus room, 3,600 square feet of administrative space, and 3,000 square feet of dormitory and living quarters.
Station 2 has no fire sprinkler system and no fire alarm system; its life safety protection is limited to basic smoke detection and a vehicle exhaust capture system in the apparatus bay.
A department facility risk assessment identified the lack of sprinkler protection at Station 2 as the highest priority unaddressed life safety deficiency across the department's three stations.
DISCUSSION:
Firefighters at Station 2 work, eat, train, and sleep in a building that would not meet the fire protection expectations the department routinely enforces on new residential and commercial occupancies in Cathedral City. A fire that starts while crews are asleep, or while crews are committed to calls and the station is unattended, could result in serious injury, loss of front-line apparatus and equipment, destruction of department records, and the loss of a primary response station serving the central portion of the city. National Fire Protection Association research consistently shows that automatic sprinkler systems are the most effective built in means of controlling a fire in its early stages and substantially reduce deaths, injuries, and property loss in structure fires.
The impact of a loss at Station 2 would extend beyond the city. In 2025, CCFE responded to 8,075 incidents and provided 82 mutual aid and 8 automatic aid responses to Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and unincorporated Riverside County. Protecting this station protects the continuity of local and regional emergency response.
The project includes the design and installation of a wet pipe automatic fire sprinkler system covering approximately 9,600 square feet of interior space, together with the underground and service components required for the system to function and to meet local requirements, including:
• Interior wet pipe sprinkler piping, heads, and system riser; • Fire Department Connection (FDC) and Post Indicator Valve (PIV); • Underground piping and check valves;
• A double detector check valve assembly as required by Desert Water Agency; and • Drywall demolition and ceiling tile repair or replacement where needed to install piping.
Implementation Schedule
The application committed CCFE to the following schedule, measured from the date of award acceptance:
Activity Target
Issue competitive solicitation Within 60 days
Award construction contract Within 120 days
Begin installation Within 180 days
System commissioning and final inspection Within 18 months The Fire Chief will manage the project, with technical support from the City’s Facilities and Building departments. Financial Services will provide grant administration, procurement and financial oversight. The Fire Department will manage the grant in house, and no administrative or indirect costs will be charged to the grant. Final costs will be established through a competitive procurement process to include an engineered design process.
FISCAL IMPACT:
For jurisdictions with populations between 20,000 and 1,000,000, the AFG program requires a local cost share equal to 10 percent of the federal share. The fiscal impact of the action before the City Council is as follows:
DESCRIPTION GENERAL
LEDGER
ACCOUNT
CODES
PROJECT
CODE
AMOUNT ONE TIME or
ONGOING
2026-2027 Grant Revenue 259-300-330-
331-6700-6701 G055XX $90,909.09 ONE TIME
2026-2027 Grant
Expense
259-300-330-
331-8XXX-8XXX G055XX 90,909.09 ONE TIME
2026-2027 Match Expense 100-300-330-
331-8XXX-8XXX G055XX 9,090.91 ONE TIME
2026-2027 Total $100,000.00
The required match of $9,090.91 will be funded from the Fire Department FY 2026/27 operating budget. Grant funds are provided on a reimbursement basis. At this time, there is no additional General Fund appropriation being requested with this action.
FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN:
Goal E - Safety
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 2026-__ Accepting the FY 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant
2. FEMA Award Notification, Application EMW-2025-FG-04668, dated September 22, 2026
3. FY 2025 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Application, EMW-2025-FG-04668
4. FEMA Award Package and Terms and Conditions (from FEMA GO)