Glossary

SAFER-Funded Positions

A newly created position funded by a SAFER Grant.

SAFER Grants

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER). Congress appropriated funding to the Office of Grants and Training of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to implement the activities of the SAFER Grants. The authority for SAFER is derived from the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) as amended by the re-designation of the second section 33 and section 34 as sections 35 and 36, respectively, and inserting a new section 34, entitled Expansion of Pre-September 11, 2001, Fire Grant Program of the U.S. Fire Administration.

SBA

Small Business Administration.

SCO

State Coordinating Officer.

SDRC

State Disaster Recovery Coordinator.

SME

Subject Matter Expert.

SOP

Standard Operating Procedure.

Scheduled Building Policy

A policy that requires a specific amount of insurance to be designated for each building and its contents.

Section 1316

Section 1316 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, provides for the denial of flood insurance coverage for any property which the Administrator finds has been declared by a duly constituted State or local authority to be in violation of State or local floodplain management regulations. Once a duly constituted State or local authority declares a structure as being in violation, the Administrator must deny flood insurance coverage provided that the individual or office making the declaration has the authority to do so and that the law or regulations violated was, in fact, intended to discourage or otherwise restrict land development or occupancy in the flood-prone area.

Section 1316 was intended for use primarily as a backup for local enforcement actions (i.e., if a community could not force compliance through the enforcement mechanisms in its regulations, it could use Section 1316 as additional leverage) and was not intended merely as a mechanism to remove bad risks from the policy base. Section 1316 will only be implemented in instances where States or communities submit declarations specifically for that purpose.

National Flood Insurance Program Requirements

• 61.5 (a) - Denial of Insurance
• 73 - Procedures

Service Animals

Any guide dog, signal dog, assistive dog, seizure dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items. Service animals shall be treated as required by laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Severe Repetitive Loss Building

Any building that:
1. Is covered under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy made available under this title;
2. Has incurred flood damage for which:
a. 4 or more separate claim payments have been made under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy issued pursuant to this title, with the amount of each such claim exceeding $5,000, and with the cumulative amount of such claims payments exceeding $20,000; or
b. At least 2 separate claims payments have been made under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy, with the cumulative amount of such claim payments exceed the fair market value of the insured building on the day before each loss.

Severe Repetitive Loss Property

Either a severe repetitive loss building or the contents within a severe repetitive loss building, or both.

Shear Walls

Walls used for structural support but not structurally joined or enclosed at the ends (except by breakaway walls). Shear walls are parallel or nearly parallel, to the flow of the water and can be used in any flood zone.

Sheet Flow Hazard

A type of flood hazard with flooding depths of 1 to 3 feet that occurs in areas of sloping land. The sheet flow hazard is represented by the zone designation AO on the FIRM.

Shelter

A place of refuge that provides life-sustaining services in a congregate facility for individuals who have been displaced by an emergency or a disaster.

Sheltering

Housing that provides short-term refuge and life-sustaining services for disaster survivors who have been displaced from their homes and are unable to meet their own immediate post-disaster housing needs.

Short Term Housing

This refers to the states of "sheltering" and "interim housing."

Short-Term Recovery

Phase of recovery which addresses the health and safety needs beyond rescue, the assessment of the scope of damages and needs, the restoration of basic infrastructure and the mobilization of recovery restarting and/or restoring essential services for recovery decision making.

Single Building

A building that is separated from other buildings by intervening clear space or solid, vertical, load-bearing division walls.

Single Family Dwelling

Either:
1. A residential single-family building in which the total floor area devoted to non-residential uses is less than 50% of the building's total floor area, or
2. A single-family residential unit within a 2-4 family building, other-residential building, business, or non-residential building, in which commercial uses within the unit are limited to less than 50% of the unit's total floor area.