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Thanks to a historic investment by the 89th Texas Legislature, Texas A&M Forest Service approved an additional $17.6 million in funding to award 687 fire and rescue equipment grants and 66 dry hydrant grants to Texas volunteer fire departments through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program today.
The Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program was established by Texas House Bill 2604 in 2001 to provide grants to rural volunteer fire departments for essential firefighting equipment and training. Since its onset, the program has awarded over $500 million in grants to Texas fire departments.
Today’s funding was the second phase in distributing over $192 million to Texas volunteer fire departments, following an appropriation approved by the 89th Texas Legislature for departments that submitted funding requests on or before Nov. 7, 2024.
During the legislative session, this program was also appropriated for approximately $88 million in base funding for the biennium (fiscal years 202627)—the most ever allocated— to address ongoing needs for critical equipment at the local level.
Additional funding for personal protective equipment and training aids will be awarded to Texas fire departments in the coming months.
Texas fire departments are eligible to apply for grants and assistance through FireConnect, a Texas A&M Forest Service database that provides a streamlined grant portal for the agency and fire departments. FireConnect also provides a comprehensive directory of Texas fire departments that is viewable for the public and all Texas fire agencies, as well as a portal for fire departments to submit incident reports and search for firefighting equipment in times when mutual aid is needed on emergency scenes.
Local departments in Austin and Colorado County receiving funding included:
• Cat Spring Volunteer Fire Department: Fire and Rescue Equipment $25,000
• Shelby Volunteer Fire Department: Fire and Rescue Equipment $25,000
• Sealy Fire Department: D ry fire hydrant $6,000
• New Ulm Volunteer Fire Department: Fire and Resuce Equipment $25,000
• Oakridge Volunteer Fire Department: Fire and Resuce Equipment $25,000
• Sheridan Volunteer Fire Department: Fire and Rescue equipment $25,000.
