Texas A&M Forest Service approved an additional $14 million in funding for grants to Texas volunteer fire departments this past Friday.
The Levelland Fire Department received $25,000 for personal protective equipment and $10,000 for training aids, as did the Whiteface Volunteer Fire Department.
The 89th Texas Legislature approved a $192 million appropriation to Texas A&M Forest Service through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program (RVFDAP). This is the largest single allocation in the program's history.
The February grant funding targeted volunteer fire department requests for personal protective equipment (PPE) and training aids that were requested on or before November 2024.
The first two rounds of funding awards occurred in October 2025 with $164 million awarded for 558 fire trucks and 321 slip-on units (mobile water systems), and an additional $17.6 million awarded in December 2025 for rescue equipment and dry hydrants. These grants, along with the new awards, total $195 million to Texas volunteer fire departments.
Although assistance requests made prior to November 2024 have been largely satisfied by this third round of funding from the recent legislative allocation, Texas volunteer fire departments continue to experience ongoing needs for vehicles, equipment, safety gear and training.
Recognizing this continuing need, during the legislative session, the RVFDAP was also appropriated approximately $88 million in base funding for the biennium (fiscal years 2026-27 —the most ever allocated—to address ongoing needs for critical equipment at the local level.
Texas fire departments can access critical resources through FireConnect, a modernized, centralized database managed by Texas A&M Forest Service. Designed to enhance operational and administrative effectiveness, FireConnect serves as a streamlined portal where departments can apply for state- and federally funded grants and assistance.
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. With these three recent rounds of awards, the program has awarded almost $600 million since its inception.