AMES, Iowa — The Minburn Volunteer Fire Department was one of 100 rural Iowa fire departments chosen by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Forestry Section’s Fire Program, in cooperation with U.S. Forest Service, to share in $234,459 worth of 50-percent-cost-sharing grants to aid in their efforts in protecting Iowan’s and their property from wildfires.
The Minburn VFD will receive $566 in funding assistance, which will assist the department acquire wildfire suppression equipment, personal protective equipment or communications equipment.
A full list of the fire departments that received the 2018 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grants can be found here.
The Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program is authorized by the 1990 Farm Bill to provide financial, technical and other assistance through state forestry agencies to organize, equip and train small, local fire departments in rural communities with populations under 10,000 to prevent and suppress rural fires.
Work contributes to healthy forests, forest stewardship and sustainable economic development. VFA dollars may be used to fund multi-community/fire department projects such as mutual-aid communications networks.
The DNR reminds all fire departments of the importance of submitting Wildland Fire Reports whenever they respond to a wildland fire or provide assistance to a prescribed or controlled wildland fire. Wildland Fire reporting forms are available on the DNR website.
Departments actively returning the reports receive priority points when the VFA grant applications are scored. These wildland fire reports are compiled locally and nationally and are reported to Congress. For more information, contact Gail Kantak, Iowa DNR Wildland Fire Supervisor, at 515-689-0083 or Gail.Kantak@dnr.iowa.gov.
