Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Indiana DNR Division of Forestry awards more than $450,000 to rural and volunteer fire departments

 

A total of 100 rural and volunteer fire departments from 54 Indiana counties have been awarded $453,386 in Volunteer Fire Assistance Capacity (VFC) awards from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The awards will be used for training, radios, or to purchase necessary firefighting equipment and gear to combat wildland fires. The grants are administered by the DNR Division of Forestry and made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

Recipients were selected based on population density, acres of public lands protected, and wildland fire reporting to DNR Fire Control Headquarters. As in past years, emphasis was given to projects that involved the fighting of wildfires.

The awarded grants range from $1,090 to $5,000.

Fire departments receiving the 2024 VFC grants, county, the amount of the grant, and the project category are:

Fire Department County Grant Project Category
Poe VFD Allen $2,500 Safety (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus [SCBA], Turn-Out Gear, personal alert safety system [PASS], etc.)
Southwest Bartholomew County VFD, Inc. Bartholomew $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Montpelier VFD Blackford $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Brown County VFD Brown $3,050 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Galveston VFD Cass $5,000 Water Handling
Twelve Mile First Responders Cass $2,500 Water Handling
Charlestown VFD Clark $5,000 Water Handling
Monroe Twp. FD (Henryville) Clark $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Forest VFD Clinton $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Kirklin VFD Clinton $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Michigan Twp. VFD Clinton $1,366.50 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Marion Twp. VFD (Greensburg) Decatur $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Garrett VFD DeKalb $3,958 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Albany-Delaware Twp. FD Delaware $5,000 Water Handling
Daleville - Salem Twp. FT Delaware $5,000 Water Handling
Dubois VFD Dubois $4,962.50 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Haysville Community Vol. Fire Dept. Dubois $4,900 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Ireland-Madison Twp. VFD Dubois $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Schnellville VFD Dubois $5,000 Water Handling
St Anthony VFD Dubois $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Cleveland Twp. FD Elkhart $2,500 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Jefferson Twp. VFD Elkhart $2,555 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Bentonville VFD Fayette $4,900 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Brookville VFD Franklin $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Eagle Fire Co. of Oldenburg Franklin $2,500 Water Handling
Laurel VFD Franklin $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Metamora FD Franklin $1,250 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Aubbeenaubbee Twp. FD Fulton $5,000 Water Handling
Kewanna / Union Twp. VFD Fulton $4,000 Water Handling
Center-Jackson Twp. FT Greene $4,999 Water Handling
Linton Fire Dept. Greene $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Taylor Twp. VFD Greene $5,000 Water Handling
Stilesville Fire and Rescue Hendricks $4,400 Water Handling
Greentown VFC Howard $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Mount Etna VFD Huntington $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Hamilton Twp. VFD Jackson $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Owen Twp. VFD Jackson $5,000 Water Handling
Seymour FD Jackson $4,098 Water Handling
Bryant VFD Jay $5,000 Water Handling
Campbell Twp. VFD Jennings $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Vernon Twp. VFD Jennings $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Edwardsport VFD Knox $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Freelandville VFD Knox $5,000 Water Handling
Vincennes Twp. FD Knox $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Winona Lake FD Kosciusko $2,475 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Howe VFD Lagrange $3,715 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Lagrange VFD Lagrange $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Lake Station VFD Lake $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Lacrosse VFD LaPorte $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Lincoln Twp. VFD (Walkerton) LaPorte $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Noble Twp. VFD (Union Mills) LaPorte $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Scipio Twp. VFD LaPorte $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Springfield Twp. VFD Inc LaPorte $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Westville VFD LaPorte $5,000 Fire Prevention \ Education
Marion Twp. Rural FD (Mitchell) Lawrence $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Shawswick VFD Lawrence $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Lapel Stony Creek Twp. FT Madison $3,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Argos VFD Marshall $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Bremen Community Fire Dept. Marshall $2,450 Water Handling
Ellettsville FD Monroe $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Waveland VFD Inc Montgomery $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
A & A Twp. VFD Morgan $5,000 Water Handling
Monroe Twp. FD (Monrovia) Morgan $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Albion FD Noble $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
French Lick FD Orange $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Clay Twp. VFD Owen 2,200 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Owen Valley FT Owen $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Bridgeton VFD Parke $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
J.U.G.A. (Bellmore) VFD Parke $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Rockville-Adams Twp. Fire & Rescue Parke $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Central Perry VFD Perry $5,000 Water Handling
Jefferson Twp. FD (Otwell) Pike $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Petersburg FD Pike $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Beverly Shores FD Porter $2,500 Water Handling
Kouts FD Porter $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Washington Twp. VFD (Valparaiso) Porter $1,090 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Francesville VFD Pulaski $5,000 Training
Medaryville-White Post FDMedaryville-White Post FD Pulaski $4,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Jefferson Twp. VFD Putnam $4,900 Water Handling
Lynn Fire Dept. Randolph $4,850 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Saratoga Ward FT Randolph $5,000 Organization (New Departments Only)
Batesville Vol. Fire & Rescue Dept. - EMS 10 Ripley $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Manilla VFD Rush $4,517 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Posey Twp. VFD (Arlington) Rush $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Johnson Twp. VFD Scott $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Vienna Twp. VFD Scott $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Chrisney VFD Spencer $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Liberty Twp. Fire St. Joseph $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Knox-Center Twp. Fire Dept. Starke $3,250 Water Handling
Koontz Lake VFD Starke $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
San Pierre Twp. VFD Starke $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Angola VFD Steuben $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Fremont VFD Steuben $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Metz FD Steuben $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Wildcat Twp. VFD Tipton $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)
Perry Twp. VFD (Evansville) Vanderburgh $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Jackson Twp. VFD (Palymra) Washington $5,000 Communication (Radios or Pagers)
Livonia Vol. Fire & Rescue Washington $5,000 Wildland Firefighting Assistance
Fountain City / New Garden Twp. FD Wayne $5,000 Safety (SCBA, Turn-Out Gear, PASS etc.)


To view all DNR news releases, please see dnr.IN.gov.