Q.  If a local fire department receives federal grant funds, is it bound to follow the federal FOIA?  Can the FOIA request be for "information" that isn't printed on a document or recorded on some other type of record, but is known by government employees as organizational knowledge?  If the fire department is telling taxpayers that it needs new furniture and a bigger administration building, can taxpayers submit a FOIA request to personally view the current structure and furniture and create their own photographic document, thus obtaining the FOIA requested information? 

A.  Receiving federal funds would not obligate a local fire department to follow the federal FOIA. The department may be subject to the state's public records law, however.  Further, the federal FOIA is not an "information" law, despite its title.  The FOIA applies to agency records only.  A federal agency is not required to answer questions, create new records, or provide explanations about existing records in response to a FOIA request.  Nor does the federal FOIA require an agency to accommodate a requester's interest in taking photographs of federal property.  A state public records law is unlikely be more helpful.