Area Departments Receive DEEP VFA Forestry Grants
Quinebaug Valley, Conn. - The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced the recipients of the 2023 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grants. 46 departments were awarded the grants, with 13 of these departments falling under the Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications dispatch center.
Since 2001, Congress has annually authorized VFA funds under the Farm Bill. The funding originates from the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and is given to state forestry agencies to be awarded as grants to volunteer firefighter projects statewide. In Connecticut, these funds are largely allocated toward small grants that do not exceed $2,500. A portion of the funds are also allocated towards training in cooperation with the Connecticut Fire Academy in Windsor Locks.
VFA grants are fund-matching grants that allow departments to acquire approved equipment to be utilized during several forestry-related incidents. Departments receive their fund-matching in the form of a reimbursement not to exceed $2,500. According to the DEEP, over the past 10 years, DEEP’s Division of Forestry has awarded more than $770,000 in VFA funds.
To apply for VFA funds, towns are required to have a population of less than 10,000 people. Departments are then scored based on the number of calls the department responded to during the previous year, the town insurance rating and any plans to improve it, the percentage of the fire department budget that is paid for by town taxes, and the history of receiving VFA grants.
In recent years area departments have used the funds to purchase chainsaws, leaf blowers, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (Fire retardant pants and shirts, hard hats, goggles, etc.), hydrant and hose connections, hose, hand tools, and numerous other items.
Since the beginning of 2023 departments within the Quinebaug Valley region have responded to over 80 brush fires (based on QCA metrics) with several of them turning into major incidents involving large amounts of land or structures lost.
Local departments that received these grants include the Bungay Fire Brigade, Canterbury Volunteer Fire Company, Community Fire Company, East Thompson Volunteer Fire Department, Eastford Independent Fire Company #1, Hampton Fire Company, Oneco Fire Company #1, Pomfret Volunteer Fire Department, Salem Volunteer Fire Department, Scotland Fire Department, Sterling Fire Company, Thompson Fire Engine Company, and the West Thompson Fire Department.