Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Grant

Grants to South Dakota Fire Departments and Academies
to Enhance Services in Rural Communities

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Agency Type:

State

Funding Source:

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South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Wildland Fire Division - USDA Forest Service

Deadline Date:

04/30/21 Received by date

Description:

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Grants of up to $6,500 to South Dakota fire departments and academies, including tribal fire departments, to enhance firefighting capacity in rural communities. Funding is intended to support training, equipment purchases, and organizational improvement. Grants assist fire departments in protecting lives and property, and reduce loss of life in rural communities.

The purpose of the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Program, formerly known as the Rural Community Fire Protection (RCFP) Program, is to provide Federal financial, technical, and other assistance to State foresters and other appropriate officials to organize, train and equip fire departments in rural areas and rural communities to prevent and suppress fires.

The Forest Service and State foresters endeavor to:

Organize, train and equip fire departments in unprotected rural areas and rural communities
Assist qualifying fire departments in saving lives and protecting property in unprotected or inadequately protected rural areas
Prevent or reduce loss of life, protect financial investments and enhance environmental quality to revitalize rural America
Increase the opportunity for rural fire departments to acquire FEPP/ FFP, training and current information on techniques of fire prevention

VFA grants may be approved to fire training academies and rural fire departments, including those operated by federally recognized Indian tribes. Training recipients must come from fire departments that qualify for VFA funding. States may retain funding for program administration and to provide centralized purchasing, conversion, or rehabilitation of FEPP equipment, or training where the State Forester provides these services directly to RFD's.

States are encouraged to use their funding to assist those departments with the greatest need as well as to fund projects having the most benefits:

VFA dollars may be used to fund multi-community / fire department projects such as a mutual-aid communications network. Projects to develop static water supplies such as dry hydrants and cisterns also provide great benefits and may enable some communities to lower their fire insurance rates.
VFA funding may be used to convert FEPP vehicles to water tenders, engines, brush trucks and equipment trucks. Fire prevention activities should be conducted by fire departments to inform communities of ways to safeguard their properties and to prevent ignitions as reference in the CFFA.
Each fire that is prevented eliminates risks to lives, property and natural resources and saves the cost and risks of a fire department response. Activities such as the above usually generate greater benefits to the community than funding nozzles; but in some cases a department may need to buy the nozzles.
The VFA Program is monitored to assure that funding is legally spent in ways that improve the protection of rural communities.

GrantWatch ID#:

GrantWatch ID#: 171702

Estimated Size of Grant:

Maximum grant $6,500

Eligibility:

See RFP and/or Grant Guidelines for full eligibility

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

VFA grants may be approved to fire training academies and rural fire departments, including those operated by federally recognized Indian tribes. Training recipients must come from fire departments that qualify for VFA funding.

A rural community is defined as having 10,000 or less population. The 10,000 person population limit ensures VFA funding assists the most needy fire departments.

Following are examples of eligibility requirements for use of VFA funding:
- A single fire department serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 of less is eligible (latest Census).
- Area fire departments (fire districts, townships, etc.) may serve an aggregate population of greater than 10,000 as long as the service area of the fire department includes a rural area or a rural community having a population of 10,000 or less. The VFA funding must be used to benefit the rural population.
- A single county or town with a population over 10,000 that is served by two or more fire districts operating entirely within the bounds of the county or town may qualify as long as the service area of a given fire department includes a rural area or a rural community or the population of the fire department's jurisdiction is 10,000 or less. The VFA funding must be used for the rural area.
- A single community with a population greater than 10,000 and having a single fire department with one or more fire stations may qualify. The fire department must have a service area that includes a rural area or community that does not exceed 10,000 population. The VFA funding must be used only for the benefit of the rural population. Similarly a single community with a population greater than 10,000 that also provides fire protection to an adjoining rural community of 10,000 or less population by contract, may also be eligible provided the VFA funding is used entirely to support the rural community.
- A single community fire department serving a population greater than 10,000 and not providing protection to a rural area or to a rural community is not eligible for VFA financial assistance.

Political structure influences how states administer the VFA Program. State subdivisions may include counties, parishes, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, villages, districts and other political subdivisions.
- While paid fire departments are not excluded from participation in the VFA Program, targeting of grants to qualifying fire departments having a membership comprised of at least 80 percent volunteer firefighters is encouraged.
- All qualifying communities and fire departments must comply with any specific criteria established by State officials and consistent with requirements established by the Forest Service. As an example a State Forester could require each eligible rural community to have a signed cooperative fire protection agreement with the State Forester's office.

VFA funding is not authorized for purchase, construction or renovation of capital improvements such as fire stations or pressurized water systems. Loans are available through other Federal sources for these purposes.

Pre-Application Information:

Application period is open March 15, 2021 to April 30, 2021. Applications must be received by April 30, 2021, use the link below to complete the online application.

Awards will be announced by June 1, 2021

Federal VFA funding must be matched at least 50 percent by rural fire departments and training academies and must qualify for VFA funds.