Farmersville volunteer fire department recently receiving funding for fire and rescue equipment through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program.
Farmersville, Lavon and Nevada were among Collin County volunteer fire departments recently receiving funding for fire and rescue equipment.
The departments each received $25,000 from a $17.6 million award by Texas A&M Forest Service following allocation by the 89th Texas Legislature.
The Forest Service distributed the money to 687 awards $17 million to Texas fire departments.
Westbook and Westminster also received awards.
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.
The latest 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.
Approximately $88 million in base funding for fiscal years 2026-27 was also appropriated for this program during the legislative session — 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 astreamlined grant portal for the agency and fire departments.
FireConnect also provides a comprehensive directory of Texas fire departments viewable by the public and all Texas fire agencies, as well as a portal for fire departments to submit incident reports and search for firefighting equipment when mutual aid is needed on emergency scenes.
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