2026 Volunteer Fire Capacity Grant

Pursuant to the Agriculture Appropriations Act, Section 7(b)3 of P.L. 95-313 (Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation hereby gives notice of the following: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation received a federal appropriation of $857,629 for the 2026 Volunteer Fire Capacity (VFC) Grant Program. The DEC will administer VFC grant awards to selected rural fire departments for the purchase of wildland firefighting suppression supplies. Departments will be selected based on whether they have received awards in the previous 5 years and the total amount received for all 5 years, whether they are a newly formed establishment, and the presence of a native American community within their jurisdiction. Due to limited funding, not every fire department that is eligible to apply will receive an award. Grant eligibility and allowable use is based on federal guidelines outlined by the US Forest Service. Fire departments comprised of at least 80% volunteer personnel that serve a rural area are eligible to apply for the VFC grant (rural refers to a town or village with a population of 10,000 or less, based on the 2020 Census). Selected fire departments will receive a maximum award of $3,500 and are required to equally match the amount they receive (VFC is a 50/50 matching funds program). Funding must be used to purchase items directly related to wildland firefighting, with no individual item exceeding $9,999. Purchases must be utilized for the direct benefit of the rural community served. Applications will be accepted through December 30, 2026. A link to the application form is available on: https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/public-safety/volunteer-fire-capacity-grantsFor further information, contact: April Marinov, NYS DEC Division of Forest Protection, 625 Broadway, 11th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-2560, (518) 402-2496 or email questions to vfagrant@dec.ny.gov Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: none Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) SDVOB Goal: 0.00% Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE) MBE Goal: 0.00% WBE Goal: 0.00% Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE) DBE Goal: 0.00%