COLLEGE STATION, Texas (FOX 44) – The Texas A&M Forest Service awarded 260 rural volunteer fire departments with more than $15.7 million in assistance grants.
These grants were awarded last week from the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Grant Program.
The Forest Service said the grants will reimburse rural volunteer fire departments for equipment purchased like fire trucks, training aids, slip-ons, chassis and various fire and rescue equipment. This includes the purchase of 70 fire trucks.
The Texas Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program is funded to award $21 million to rural volunteer fire departments this year. The program has allocated more than $336 million to rural volunteer fire departments since its inception.
The Forest Service said the Texas Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program was created in 2002. It provides funding to rural volunteer fire departments for firefighting vehicles, fire and rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry hydrants, computer systems and firefighter training.
The assistance program is a cost-share program funded by the Texas State Legislature.
These rural volunteer fire department grants are applied for and distributed through Texas A&M Forest Service’s recently released FireConnect tool, which provides both the Forest Service and rural volunteer fire departments with a streamlined grant process portal.
Departments interested in applying for future grants can explore grant processes and opportunities here.
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