Eligibility

• A single fire department serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 of less is eligible (from the latest Census).
• Area fire departments (fire districts, townships, etc.) may serve an aggregate population of greater than 10,000 if 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 if 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.

Administrative Considerations

• 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%  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.
• Preference will be given to applications with wildland only related request over those with structure/wildland or structure only related request.
• The community share (match) of the financial assistance must be available at the time of application. Applicants may not derive their share from other sources of Federal assistance.

Uses of VFA Funding

• 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.


• VFA funding is not authorized for the 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.
• The VFA Program is monitored to assure that funding is legally spent in ways that improve the protection of rural communities.