Wenham Fire Department Awarded 'Rural" Fire Grant

The Wenham Fire Department has been awarded a grant as part of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Volunteer Fire Assistance grant program.

The award of $988.50 came on Friday in the first of five events to award the grants in a ceremony at the Bolton Fire Department.

The grants go to cities and towns in Massachusetts with populations of less than 10,000 that have “a non-profit rural call or volunteer fire department,” according to an announcement of the grant. To be eligible, fire departments must be made up of at least 80 percent call or volunteer firefighters and be recognized as a department under state law. This year, the grants will total $70,000. The maximum amount a community is eligible to receive is $2,000 and in the latest round awards were made ranging from $387 to $2,000.

Other departments reviewing grants included Ashburnham, Berlin, Bolton, Boxford, Boylston, Dover, Dunstable, Sherborn, Sterling, Townsend and Westminster.

“Supporting these smaller towns and cities ensures that volunteer fire departments are able to purchase necessary supplies and equipment to aid in fire prevention and management efforts,” DCR Commissioner Ed Lambert said in the grant announcement.

The grant money comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and administered by the Department’s Forest Fire Control and was authorized by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978.