Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants
Get funding in rural areas to build firefighting capacity
Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grants are available to assist rural fire departments in Louisiana. These grants:
Address critical preparedness needs for firefighter safety
Increase initial attack capability suppression efforts and training
Protect state and private lands threatened by wildfire.
Definition: A rural volunteer fire department is defined as “an organized, not for profit, fire protection organization that provides service primarily to a community or city with a population of 10,000 or less or to a rural area, as defined by the Secretary of Agriculture, whose firefighting personnel is 80 percent or more volunteer, and that is recognized as a fire department by the laws of the State.” 16 U.S.C. 2106
Available grants
Review our grant guidelines before applying. Applications due July 1, 2023.
Applicants will be notified beginning September 1. Contact us if you haven't heard by September 20. Due to the ongoing wildfire crisis across the state, award letter notification is delayed until further notice. Please continue to check this page for updates as they become available.
Once awarded, complete a finance disbursement report by early 2024 for reimbursement of costs. Report must be received to our Baton Rouge office by 4:30pm on March 1, 2024.