ATTENTION: All fire departments with a 501C3 status must include an IRS Determiniation letter with grant submittal.
Volunteer Fire Assistance Program and Grants
The Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program is designed to establish and enhance fire protection in communities with a population of 10,000 persons or less. Through this program, the Division of Forestry provides training, grant funds and technical advice to rural fire departments.
Volunteer Fire Assistance grants funding ranging from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $5,000 is available through a 50/50 reimbursement system on an annual basis. Grant applications are generally available during the first quarter of the calendar year, and recipients are reimbursed for approved costs at the end of the grant cycle. Eligible equipment items that can be purchased with VFA grant funding include:
- Nomex clothing
- pump hoses
- tanks
- fire shelters
- small fire suppression equipment and personal protective equipment.
The 2024 VFA Program grant application is now available
click here
. For more information and assistance regarding the grants, contact
Samantha Rose, Fire Management Section, Rural Fire Suppression Technical Advisor, at 502-803-8926.
ATTENTION: All fire departments are required to obtain a Vendor Code number from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Controller for the fire department. Information and the application needed to obtain this number can be downloaded
HERE.
The Volunteer Fire Assistance Tornando and Flooding Assistance Grant
The Volunteer Fire Assistance Tornado and Flooding assistance (21’ Tornado and 22’ Flooding VFA Grant) program, provides grant funds and technical advice to rural fire departments in communities with a population of 10,000 persons or less that have been negatively affected by the recent tornados and flooding. VFAINF grants are currently available on an annual basis and applications are generally available during the first quarter of the calendar year. Grant recipients are reimbursed for approved costs at the end of the grant cycle. Grant funds ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 are available through a 50/50 reimbursement system. Eligible equipment items that can be purchased with VFAINF grant funding include: Nomex clothing, pumps, hoses, tanks, fire shelters, small fire suppression equipment and wildland personal protective equipment. Click here for an application.
Training Opportunities for VFDs
Wildland firefighter training courses are offered to fire departments across the state. The training includes the S-130 and S-190 courses, which are wildland fire courses certified by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Please contact the field office in your area for more information about training courses.