(Statewide) – A total of 100 rural and volunteer fire departments from 54 Indiana counties have been awarded $453,386 in Volunteer Fire Assistance Capacity (VFC) awards from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The awards will be used for training, radios, or to purchase necessary firefighting equipment and gear to combat wildland fires.
The grants are administered by the DNR Division of Forestry and made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
The awarded grants range from $1,090 to $5,000.
Local fire departments receiving the VFC grants, the amount of the grant, and the project category are:
- Marion Township (Millhousen) Volunteer Fire Department – $5,000 – Wildland firefighting assistance.
- Brookville Volunteer Fire Department – $5,000 – Safety (SCBA), Turnout gear, PASS, etc.
- Eagle Fire Company of Oldenburg – $2,500 – Water handling.
- Laurel Volunteer Fire Department – $5,000 – Radios or pagers.
- Metamora Volunteer Fire Department – $1,250 – Wildland firefighting assistance.
- Batesville Fire & Rescue – $5,000 – Wildland firefighting assistance.
Recipients were selected based on population density, acres of public lands protected, and wildland fire reporting to DNR Fire Control Headquarters.
As in past years, emphasis was given to projects that involved the fighting of wildfires.
