RURAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS

Pursuant to the Agriculture Appropriations Act, Section 7(b)3 of P.L. 95-313 (Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation hereby gives notice of the following:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (The Department) will administer the 2020 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Grant program to assist eligible rural fire departments in the purchase of eligible wildland fire suppression equipment. VFA applications will be accepted through June 30, 2020.

The Department received a federal appropriation of $583,180 to award fire assistance grants. Fire departments eligible to apply may receive grant funding up to $1,500 for the purchase of eligible wildland fire suppression equipment. Fire departments are required to equally match (50/50) the amount of the award. Grant funding is based on federal guidelines for use in fire districts serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 or less. A fire department serving a population greater than 10,000 and not providing protection to a rural area or rural community is not eligible for VFA financial assistance.

Applications are scored based on established rating criteria including: population, the I.S.O. Fire Prevention Insurance rating, the presence of Native American communities in the district and the date of the last VFA grant received.

Applications are available on-line at http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/2364.html. For further information, contact: Lynne Korona, DEC, Division of Forest Protection, 625 Broadway, 3rd Fl., Albany, NY 12233-2560, (518) 402-8835 or email questions to [email protected]