From staff reports
The Shippenville/Elk Township Volunteer Fire Company and the New Bethlehem Fire Co. No. 1 last week received grants from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the departments’ efforts in fighting grass and brush fires.
The Shippenville/Elk Township department was awarded $9,886 and the New Bethlehem was awarded $6,163.
Grants are awarded on a cost-share basis. The maximum grant awarded in 2021 is $10,000 and cannot exceed 50 percent of the actual expenditures of local, public, and private nonprofit organizations in the agreement.
Priority was placed on projects that include the purchase of wildfire suppression equipment and protective clothing.
Local volunteer firefighters battled many grass and brush fires this year, taxing personnel and resources.
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn and Fire Commissioner Bruce Trego thanked volunteer fire companies for their service to communities close to home, as well as those members who often join DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry crews battling wildfires far beyond Pennsylvania’s borders.
Several crews have been sent West to fight wildfires caused by hot, dry summer conditions, while also responding regularly to local woodland and brush fires.
They noted the wildfire grants help enable smaller companies to concentrate more on public safety and training while easing their fiscal constraints.