The purpose of the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program is to provide financial, technical and other assistance to state foresters and other appropriate officials to organize, train, and equip fire departments in rural Ohio areas and rural communities to prevent and suppress fires. A rural community is defined as having 10,000 or less population.
In Ohio, priority is given to departments in greatest need for the following projects:
- Organization of new fire departments (those not yet in operation or recently organized)
- Multi-community projects (county-wide projects or bulk purchases with four or more fire departments) or projects sponsored by county or regional fire associations.
- Purchase of wildland slip in pump units for trucks & all terrain and utility vehicles (ATV/UTV)
- Purchase of wildland personal protective equipment
- Conversion of Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) & Fire Fighter Property (FFP) equipment to firefighting apparatus.
- Purchase of communication equipment with preference given to equipment compatible with Ohio's MARCS system.
- Purchase of Utility Vehicles and All-Terrain Vehicles (UTV & ATV)
Projects not in the priority list will receive secondary consideration for funding.
85 projects totaling more than $549,000 were awarded in 2024. More information can be found here: https://ohiodnr.gov/discover-and-learn/safety-conservation/about-ODNR/news/support-rural-fire-departments