FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2025
Texas volunteer fire departments receive $2.1
million in grants
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – On March
5, 2025, Texas A&M Forest Service held the second of three funding meetings
of fiscal year 2025 for the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program,
awarding 94 grants totaling $2.1 million.
Grants proposed at this meeting
will assist VFDs across Texas in purchasing equipment such as dry hydrants, fire
and rescue equipment, personal protective equipment and training aids.
“Texas’ local fire
departments are the first to respond to wildfires and diverse emergencies and
natural disasters,” said Jason Keiningham, Texas A&M Forest Service
Capacity Building Department Head. “Through the Rural VFD Assistance Program,
we do everything we can to ensure that their firefighting capacity is strong by
helping them purchase necessary equipment. This increases the ability of fire departments
across the state to fight wildland fires, cooperate on different types of incidents
and aid other states in times of need.”
These grants are applied for and
processed through Texas A&M Forest Service’s web application, FireConnect,
providing the agency and fire departments with a streamlined grant portal and
process. This site also provides a comprehensive directory of Texas fire
departments viewable for the public and all Texas fire agencies, as well as a
portal for fire departments to submit incident reports to increase statewide
situational awareness and track suppression costs.
The Rural VFD Assistance Program,
launched in 2001, provides grants to rural VFDs for firefighting vehicles,
fire/rescue equipment, protective clothing, dry hydrants and firefighter
training. Since its inception, the program has awarded more than $380 million
to volunteer fire departments in Texas, including more than $22.4 million
in fiscal year 2024. The Texas Legislature has allocated approximately $22 million
to Texas A&M Forest Service for the program in fiscal year 2025 to award
rural VFDs.
Grants awarded at the first funding meeting of fiscal year 2025 for the Rural VFD Assistance
Program included funding for firefighting vehicles. These awards are traditionally
made at the first meeting of the fiscal year to ensure adequate building times
before the grants expire.
The next funding meeting for the
Rural VFD Assistance Program is tentatively scheduled to be held Aug. 6, 2025.
View the grant recipient list at Second FY25 Funding Meeting
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Photos of previous recipients: https://agrilife.photoshelter.com/galleries/C00004ctr0uNLkTQ/G00000fsUFg4Tcsg/Rural-VFD-Assistance-Program
Texas A&M Forest Service Contacts:
Capacity Building Department, 2604@tfs.tamu.edu, 979-458-6505
Communications Office, newsmedia@tfs.tamu.edu, 979-458-6606