Texas A&M Forest Service awards $17 million to Texas fire departments
Rural volunteer units receive fire and rescue equipment funding
Thanks to a historic investment by the 89th Texas Legislature, Texas A&M Forest Service approved an additional $17.6 million in funding to award 687 fire and rescue equipment grants and 66 dry hydrant grants to Texas volunteer fire departments through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program on Dec. 5.
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.
More funding available
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 a streamlined 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.
View the list of grant recipients.
Read about the first round of funding of $164 million.
