Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Awarded to Colebrook

COLEBROOK – A Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Grant has been awarded to the Town of Colebrook by the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) Division of Forestry. These grants are awarded annually with the 2015 allocation totaling $2,500 said State Representative Jay Case, who represents Colebrook, Goshen, Winchester and Torrington.

VFA grant funding stems through a federal program targeted at aiding fire departments that serve populations of 10,000 or less. Funding is used for purchase of protection gear, training new personnel, and preventative projects. Such purchases, training or projects must be completed by March 1, 2016.

The grant totals generally do not exceed $2,500 and are awarded based on a matching 50% reimbursable rate of what is presented on the application. After the fire department spends funds, then the department will be reimbursed up to 50%. Applications are considered based on how many calls the department responds to, the municipality’s insurance rating and the percentage of fire department funding coming from town taxes.

“This grant program solidifies how important it is that our smaller fire departments get the proper funding in order to operate,” said Rep. Case (R-63). “Even though we don’t have a large population out here in the northwest corner, emergencies still happen and we need to have our fire personnel properly equipped and trained to respond.”

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