The State of New Mexico, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), Forestry Division (Forestry Division) is now accepting applications for the Volunteer Fire Assistance Program (VFA).
Donor Name: Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD)
State: New Mexico
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/24/2025
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
This VFA grant is provided through emergency funds made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (Forest Service) to protect communities from catastrophic wildland fire. Grant funding focuses primarily on wildland fire objectives including: 1) equipping rural fire departments with wildland fire equipment; 2) organizing rural fire departments for wildland fire response; and 3) wildland fire prevention.
Funding Information
The maximum grant amount for equipment projects is $20,000.00 and the maximum grant amount forprevention and organizational projects is $24,999.00.
Uses of VFA Grant
VFA funding’s primary focus is to strengthen a local government’s capability to organize and respond to wildland fire. Examples include:
- projects that provide for the purchase of wildland fire equipment.
- funding fire prevention projects that reduce the number of human caused fires and protect the public. Possible prevention projects include defensible space workshops, development of a debris burning permit system, or adoption of wildland urban-interface ordinances; or
- hiring of a Wildland Fire Coordinator to work with departments to set up wildland fire training, track wildland fire qualifications, and develop interagency agreements such as the New Mexico Resource Mobilization Plan.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Applicants are municipalities, counties, and tribes that service rural communities with less than 10,000 people and who can provide 10% cost-share match. Each Application must include a narrative of the proposed project’s wildland objective and how this project will benefit these communities and their ability to respond to wildfires in medium/high risk areas. Applicants who follow the National Incident Management System – Incident Command System (NIMS ICS) in day-to-day operations will receive higher scores.
- EMNRD will place a strong emphasis on wildland personal protective equipment and firefighting equipment. Items with an individual cost greater than $5,000 are considered capital outlay and are not eligible for funding.
- All-terrain vehicles and utility-terrain vehicles are NOT eligible for funding.
For more information, visit EMNRD.
