BOSTON – On Wednesday, the Baker administration announced that 39 communities across the Commonwealth, including Granville have been awarded Cooperative Fire Protection (CFP) Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Program grants totaling $65,652 in funding.
The VFA program, which serves as a very important funding source for fire protection equipment and resources, is a competitive grant offered to all non-profit rural call or volunteer fire departments that provide service primarily to a community or city with a population of 10,000 people or less.
“VFA Program grants provide local call and volunteer fire departments with a vital funding source to secure important and reliable tools should a fire emergency strike within their communities,” said Baker. “We are proud to work closely and cooperatively with local communities to ensure services, such as fire protection, are provided.”
“Community based call and volunteer fire departments play an important role in our forestry protection services,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. “The Baker-Polito administration is committed to providing our cities and towns across the state with the necessary equipment to protect our communities and natural resources.”
To qualify for the grants, fire departments must be made up of at least 80 percent call or volunteer firefighters and be recognized as a department under state law. Eligible proposed projects must pertain to firefighter safety, technology transfer, and rural fire defense.
“The VFA grants will allow our community fire partners the resources they need in their crucial mission to protect life and property in the event of a fire,” said DCR Commissioner Leo Roy. “Ranging from $280 to $6,000, these grants will equip call and volunteer fire departments with the needed gear to protect our natural resources for wildlife and the public.”
“The recipients of these VFA grants are our front line partners in the prevention and containment of forest fires across Massachusetts,” said DCR Chief Fire Warden David Celino. “These grants will give community fire departments necessary equipment to ensure the continued success of our shared mission.”
Funding for the VFA Program is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and is administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) on a 50% reimbursement basis.
This year’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Program grant recipient communities are: Ashfield ($1,444), Becket ($2,000), Berkley ($1,660), Blandford ($1,999.96), Boxford ($2,000), Brimfield ($1,968.37), Brookfield ($1,493), Clarksburg ($2,000), Essex ($2,000), Gill ($1,979.95), Gosnold ($2,000), Granville ($1,017.47), Harvard ($2,000), Hawley ($697.05), Hinsdale ($2,000), Lancester ($2,000), Leverett ($1,978), Montague Center Fire District ($2,000), Monterey ($2,000), New Salem ($1,982.50), Otis ($1,965.65), Paxton ($2,000), Rowe ($2,000), Royalston ($2,000), Russell-Huntington-Chester (a three-town joint project, $6,000)), Rutland ($2,000), Sunderland ($1,649.10), Three Rivers ($2,000), Tolland ($2,000), Topsfield ($302.50), Townsend ($1,000), Warren ($600), Warwick ($1,330), Wendell ($1,694), Westhampton ($2,000), Williamstown ($499.95), and Windsor ($280.50).
“Volunteer firefighters are true public servants who routinely put their lives on the line for the safety of their communities,” said State Senate President Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst). “These grants will help ensure that firefighters in small communities throughout Massachusetts have the tools they need to safely and effectively do their jobs.”
“Call/volunteer firefighters provide an invaluable service to our smallest communities – working regular jobs and jumping into action when called upon,” said State Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield). “These grants will ensure that these vital public safety personnel have the equipment they need to get the job done”.
“These grants are so critical to small towns that rely on volunteer firefighters,” said State Representative Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington). “I am happy that these towns are getting continued support and valuable equipment for their volunteers who dedicate so much time and energy to protect the residents.”
Examples of the equipment the Volunteer Fire Assistance Program grants will assist in funding include: helmets, goggles, neck shrouds, portable radios, radio harnesses, rescue whistles, portable tanks, mapping software, hoses, binoculars, chainsaws, backpack pumps, bolt cutters, hand tools, and first responder kits.
