HARRISBURG, Pa. — Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced a record level of available grant funding to help Pennsylvania’s rural communities better guard against the threat of forest fires.
“We need to provide resources to ensure well-trained, well-equipped local firefighting forces are available in rural areas,” said Governor Rendell. “The devastating fires in western states last spring and summer are a reminder of the value of skilled firefighters. Many of those brave volunteers returned home to battle brush and forest fires in Pennsylvania.
“The men and women who faithfully answer the call in forests and brush near their homes deserve our continued support.”
A record $559,211 in grants is available to Pennsylvania volunteers this year. A total of 176 companies across the state were helped last year with grants totaling more than $557,000. More than $7 million has been awarded since 1982.
The grants and other assistance are offered annually through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, with funding supplied by the USDA Forest Service through the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (Volunteer Fire Assistance).
“As the number of homes and communities in Pennsylvania’s wooded and rural areas continues to grow each year, so, too, does the threat of wildfires,” said DCNR Secretary Michael DiBerardinis. “As the state agency responsible for protecting our state woodlands from fire, DCNR sees these grants as a boon to helping better organize, train and equip local firefighting forces in rural areas.”
Grant applications must be received at the Harrisburg headquarters of DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry by 4 p.m. Friday, May 2.
Grant applications and more information may be obtained from the Bureau of Forestry’s Division of Forest Fire Protection. Contact Forest Program Specialist Charles C. Choplick at (717) 787-2925, cchoplick@state.pa.us, or visit www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/ffp/index.aspx.
In reviewing applications, the bureau will place priority on those requests seeking funds for projects that include the purchase of wildfire suppression equipment and protective clothing.
Grants also may be used for mobile or portable radios, installation of dry hydrants, wildfire prevention and mitigation, wildfire fighter training, or conversion and maintenance of federal excess vehicles received from the bureau to be used for fire suppression.
Overseen by DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry, aid is granted on a cost-share basis. Grants for any project during a fiscal year cannot exceed 50 percent of the actual expenditures of local, public and private nonprofit organizations in the agreement.
The maximum grant request that will be considered from any fire company in 2008 is $7,500.
All items approved for purchase under the 2007 fiscal year program must be purchased between Oct. 1, 2007, and Nov. 30, 2008.
The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more about Governor Rendell’s initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit:
Source: Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Contact
Terry Brady of the Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources, +1-717-772-9101, or Barry Ciccocioppo of the Pennsylvania Office of
the governor, +1-717-783-1116
Web Site: http://www.governor.state.pa.us/