Skip to Content
Return to Search

Rural Fire Capacity

Grantor:
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Portal ID:
5533
Status:
Closed (154 total applications submitted)
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The Rural Fire Capacity (RFC) Program is a Federally-funded grant program that allows California to provide local and rural fire departments with minor firefighting, training, communications and safety equipment for their volunteer firefighters. 

Description:

The RFC Program is not intended for major equipment (fire engines, vehicles, etc) or Capital repairs. The RFC Program has a 50/50 match requirement which means that the applying department must be able to meet the intended grant award, dollar for dollar. Awards for departments are set at a minimum of $500 with a maximum of $20,000.

Training of local fire forces in both wildfire and structural fire techniques is a primary goal of this grant. 

Communications, for alarm systems and dispatch capabilities, should be considered an integral part of the rural fire department. Funds are available for the development and purchase of radio equipment for dispatching centers, vehicles and alert monitors, and pagers.

Requests for construction projects of any type are NOT fundable.

Requests for HAZMAT, extrication, rescue, medical aid, and other non-fire training costs or materials are NOT fundable.

 

ELIGIBILITY
 

Funding for departments must meet at least one of the following qualifications:

 

1.     A single fire department serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 or less.

 

2.     Area fire departments (fire districts, townships, etc.) may serve an aggregate population of greater than 10,000 as long as the service area of the fire department includes a rural area or a rural community having a population of 10,000 or less. The RFC funding must be used to benefit the rural population.

 

3.     A single county or town with a population over 10,000 which is served by two or more fire districts operating entirely within the bounds of the county or town may qualify as long as the service area of a given fire department includes a rural area or a rural community or the population of the fire department's jurisdiction is 10,000 or less. The RFC funding must be used for the rural area.

 

4.     A single community with a population greater than 10,000 and having a single fire department with one or more fire stations may qualify. The fire department must have a service area that includes a rural area or community that does not exceed 10,000 population. Also a single community with a population greater than 10,000 which also provides fire protection to an adjoining rural community of 10,000 or less population by contract may also be eligible provided the RFC funding is used entirely to support the rural community.

A single community fire department serving a population greater than 10,000 and not providing protection to a rural area or to a rural community is not eligible for RFC financial assistance.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Nonprofit
  • Public Agency
  • Tribal Government

Fire Department must serve a rural area or community with a population of 10,000 or less.

A single community fire department serving a population greater than 10,000 and not providing protection to a rural area or to a rural community is not eligible for RFC financial assistance.

Please see Grant Description for detailed eligibility 

Eligible Geographies:

Rural area/community with a population of 10,000 or less.

Matching Funding Requirement:

Awards are provided on a reimbursable basis.  Recipients must complete the approved a1ward project(s) using local funds and then bill CAL FIRE in accordance with the award agreement in order to receive the award funds.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
August 2021
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
~11 months

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$1,000,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
$500 – $20,000
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
50%
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • Federal

Funding Source Notes:

CAL FIRE is responsible for administering grant funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service as authorized by the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978, and has been authorized to make awards on a matching basis to public entities such as cities, counties, special districts and volunteer fire departments.

 

The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Reimbursement(s)

Funding Method Notes:

Interested parties will fill out an application and will be notified via email if they have been awarded. Instructions will be provided at that time on how to accept the award.

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
Megan Esfandiary, 1-916-894-9845, megan.esfandiary@fire.ca.gov

Similar to This Grant