PHOTO: From left, Indian River Fire Prevention Co-Chairs Robert Marmor and Roxanne Bammer, are joined by Chief Hayden Klingler, as they receive a $4,500 ceremonial check from the Delaware Forest Service’s Sam Topper for its 2021 volunteer fire assistance grant.

DOVER, Del. (July 23, 2021) — The Delaware Forest Service is awarding more than $40,000 in matching grants to 14 volunteer fire companies to provide tools and equipment to fight wildfires throughout the First State. The VFA Grant program is open to all Delaware volunteer fire departments and can provide up to $4,500 in matching grants to acquire pumps, hoses, and equipment to respond to and suppress wildfires. Since its inception, more than $400,000 has been given to enhance wildfire response in the First State.

“Delaware’s volunteer fire companies are literally the first responders to every type of emergency in their communities, including wildfires. That’s why we are proud to partner with them to provide grant funding to purchase equipment and resources to help protect lives and keep properties safer,” said Kyle Hoyd, assistant state forester and director of Delaware’s wildland fire program.

RANGELY, Colo. (June 28, 2021) — Delaware’s Type 6 engine and its three-man crew are part of 313 personnel currently fighting the Oil Springs Fire, located 20 miles south of Rangely, Colorado. The fire was started by lightning on June 18 and has grown to 12,613 acres with only 18 percent containment. Delaware’s crew is working on one of the fire’s priority areas, Division D, which involves the continued protection of the Dragon Trail Compressor Site. The fire is spreading moderately in a mixture of  pinyon, juniper and sagebrush.

Delaware’s crew is comprised of engine boss Samual Topper of Maryland, engine boss trainee Adam Keever of Newark, and FFT2 Bradley Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized from Blackbird State Forest last week and started work on Saturday, June 26. The National Preparedness Level was increased to 4 on a 5-point scale on June 22. Currently there are 37 uncontained large fires and a total of 50 large fires have burned 667,397 acres. To date, 30,219 wildfires have burned 1,389,087 acres across the United States.

Delaware’s crew is comprised of engine boss Samual Topper of Maryland, engine boss trainee Adam Keever of Newark, and FFT2 Bradley Melson of Milford. The crew mobilized from Blackbird State Forest last week and started work on Saturday, June 26.

Fore more information, contact Kyle Hoyd, office: (302) 698-4548 or email: kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov

Contact: Kyle Hoyd
Wildland Fire Program
kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. – The Delaware Forest Service’s Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Program has awarded more than $18,000 to six volunteer fire departments to help boost their capability and readiness to respond to wildfires.

“Delaware’s volunteer fire companies (VFC’s) are vital to the Delaware Forest Service because they provide much of the manpower and resources to fight wildfires in the state. The VFA grant program offers funding to fire companies for expenses such as repairing pumps and skids on brush units and providing wildland fire tools and personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition to this grant program, the Delaware Forest Service also maintains a supply cache for wildland fire tools and forestry hose at its state forests, which helps fire companies swap out used tools at no cost,” said Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service’s assistant forestry administrator. “We hope to continue our working relationship with local fire companies throughout Delaware by continuing to provide technical, educational, and financial support.

The VFA Grant program is designed to help volunteer fire companies underwrite the acquisition cost of pumps, hoses, and equipment to respond to and suppress wildfires. Since its inception, more than $350,000 has been awarded to enhance wildfire response in the First State.

2020 Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants

DOVER, Del. — Delaware volunteer fire departments that respond to rural wildfires can apply for matching grants up to $4,500 from the Delaware Forest Service’s 2020 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Equipment Grant Program. Since its inception, the program has provided more than $350,000 to enhance wildfire response in the First State. The application deadline is Wednesday, May 13, with awardees notified by June 1. All requests must show a 50-50 match in either cash or in-kind services, such as volunteer hours spent on training or responding to field fires. Projects and purchases must be completed by August 1, 2020.

Grant materials are available at the links below:

• 2020 Volunteer Fire Assistance Program Grant Application (MS-Word)
• 2020 Volunteer Fire Assistance Program Grant Application (PDF)

“This is a great opportunity for volunteer fire companies to obtain wildland firefighting equipment at no cost to their company,” said Kyle Hoyd, Delaware’s assistant state forester who oversees its wildland fire program. “Brush unit upgrades, personal protective equipment (PPE), chainsaws for wooded operations—these are just a few of the items that can be obtained through this grant opportunity.”

All applications must received at the Forest Service’s Dover Headquarters (2320 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901) by regular mail at the close of business (COB) on that day. No emailed or walk-in applications will be accepted. Applicants are asked to take note of the submission instructions at the bottom of the application.

Priority will be given to applicants that have:

• Not received VFA grant funding from the Delaware Forest Service in the past three years
• Members attend the 2019-2020 (S130/S190) wildland fire classes, and
• Members participate in the Delaware Forest Service’s 2020 annual fire camp.

Funding cannot be used for vehicles (trucks/UTV’s/ATV’s/Trailers), structural firefighting gear (turnout coats, hardhats, gloves, lights, rescue saws, etc.) can be purchased with this funding. Funding is for wildland firefighting ¾”-1.5” forestry hose, wildland nomex clothing, wildland hardhats, brush unit pumps/skids, and wildland fire hand tools. Chainsaws can be purchased with grant funds, however they cannot be used/modified into rescue saws.

If you have any questions about the application process or what can be purchased, please contact Kyle Hoyd at (302) 698-4548 or at Kyle.Hoyd@delaware.gov

Contact: Kyle Hoyd, Delaware Forest Service
302-698-4548, kyle.hoyd@delaware.gov 

MURPHY, N.C.  —  The Delaware Forest Service has dispatched a Type 6 engine and crew to the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. The unit will provide resource and readiness capability as a combination of drought, fuel moisture, and weather conditions have created above average potential for increased wildfire activity across the Southern Region. Delaware’s crew consists of Sam Topper of Maryland, a senior forester with the Delaware Forest Service, and Adam N. Keever of Newark, a conservation technician with DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation.

This is the first assignment of 2019 for the Delaware engine crew. In 2018, the Delaware Forest Service dispatched a Type 6 engine to battle California’s Ferguson Fire, which caused two fatalities and burned almost 97,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest and Yosemite National Park. In 2017, the Type 6 engine and crew was sent to the Eagle Creek Fire, which burned more than 50,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and Oregon.

“One of the Delaware Forest Service’s core missions is providing critical resources for wildfire suppression and emergency response—both locally and nationally,” said Kyle Hoyd, Delaware’s assistant state forestry administrator who oversees its wildland fire program. “We take pride in the fact that our Type 6 engine and experienced crew members can support the needs of our federal and state partners when we are called upon to serve.”