West Barnstable Fire District Gets Nearly $3K In Grant Funding

BARNSTABLE, MA — The West Barnstable Fire District is set to receive a grant through the Volunteer Fire Assistance program, state officials said recently.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) announced that 36 communities with nonprofit rural, call or volunteer fire departments have been awarded a total of $88,346 in grant funding through the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Program.

This funding can help the departments and fire districts purchase necessary supplies and equipment for their respective units.

“The VFA grants provide rural fire departments across the state with funding to invest in training and equipment that are critical to responding quickly and effectively to wildfires,” said DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo. “In addition to providing important resources to our communities, these grants also demonstrate the partnership between federal, state, and municipal agencies to preserve and protect our natural resources and ensuring safe outdoor spaces for everyone to enjoy.”

“The firefighters that protect our rural communities deserve to have the best training and equipment to keep them and our communities safe,” added Anne Gobi, Director of Rural Affairs. “Our rural communities contain heavily forested areas and the effects of climate change and other extreme weather events have a dramatic impact on those forests. These grants are welcomed and necessary.”

The West Barnstable Fire District was among those receiving grants, with their portion coming in at $2,987.50.

The VFA grants are awarded to municipalities with a population of 10,000 or less and are home to community volunteer fire departments responding to wildfires safely and effectively. To be considered for a VFA grant, fire departments must be made up of at least 80 percent call or volunteer firefighters, be a state-recognized fire department and be National Incident Management System (NIMS) compliant.

Communities considered for a VFA grant include high-risk towns adjacent to federal lands, those working in partnership with federal firefighting agencies to respond to wildfires and those in high-risk areas not associated with federal lands.