VDOF Awards $163,000 in Grants to 108 Volunteer Fire Departments

Through its Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program, the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) has awarded more than $163,000 in grants to 108 volunteer fire departments (VFDs) across the Commonwealth. The grants, ranging in size from $241 to $2,885, were awarded today and will be used by the VFDs for such purchases as personal protective equipment, communications gear, water tanks for brush trucks, wildland fire specialty tools and training materials.

“The VFA program provides vital funding to the many volunteer fire departments that assist us with the suppression of wildfires across the state,” said John Miller, director of VDOF’s resource protection division.  “This money helps VFDs purchase much-needed equipment that provides for the safety of both the public and these volunteer firefighters.  I only wish we had enough funding to support all their needs.”

A total of 125 fire departments applied for grants this year, and 108 were approved. The requests for support totaled $595,000 – far more than the $163,377 VDOF had available. Since the VFA program began in 1975, the VDOF has awarded more than $2.6 million to volunteer fire departments throughout the Commonwealth.

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Note to Editors and Reporters: An Excel spreadsheet is attached that lists each VFD who received a grant this year and the amount of that grant.

The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, the Agency has forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.

With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 144,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $27.5 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.