Local Fire Depts. Awarded Grants

LINCOLN — Two Cheyenne County Volunteer Fire Departments are recipients of grant funds from the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS).

The Forest Service (NFS) announced Sidney Volunteer Fire Department and Potter Volunteer Fire Department are among recipients of the 2018 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) grant. This year, 109 rural fire districts will receive $330,000 in direct funding from the grant. Sidney VFD $4,320 in grant monies, and Potter VFD gets $4,500.

The funds will be leveraged to complete $1 million worth of projects around the state. Awards are utilized for requests such as personal protective equipment, prevention, and communication gear.

“This year we not only saw an increase in the amount of wildfires reported but also the number of fire departments that were responding to wildfires,” said Matt Holte, NFS Fire Program Manager. “Because of these increases, Nebraska was awarded an additional $100,000 which is funneled right back into departments across the state.”

More than $4.5 million has been awarded to Nebraska’s volunteer fire departments and partners over the past 20 years.