A. Eligibility

Following are examples of eligibility requirements for use of VFA funding.

1. A single fire department serving a rural area or a rural community with a population of 10,000 or less is eligible (latest Census).
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 VFA funding must be used to benefit the rural population.
3. A single county or town with a population over 10,000 that 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 VFA 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. The VFA funding must be used only for the benefit of the rural population. Similarly a single community with a population greater than 10,000 that also provides fire protection to an adjoining rural community of 10,000 or less population by contract, may also be eligible provided the VFA funding is used entirely to support the rural community.
5. 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 VFA financial assistance.

B. Administrative Considerations

Political structure influences how States administer the VFA Program. States' subdivisions may include counties, parishes, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, villages, districts, and other political subdivisions.

1. While paid fire departments are not excluded from participation in the VFA Program, targeting of grants to qualifying fire departments having a membership comprised of at least 80 percent volunteer firefighters is encouraged.
2. All qualifying communities and fire departments must comply with any specific criteria established by State officials and consistent with requirements established by the Forest Service. As an example a State forester could require each eligible rural community to have a signed cooperative fire protection agreement with the State Forester's office.
3. The community share (match) of the financial assistance must be available at the time of application. Applicants may not derive their share from other sources of Federal assistance.
4. The community share of the financial assistance can be in the form of cash or "in-kind" contributions. Examples of in-kind contributions would be volunteer labor for some projects; such as installation of dry fire hydrants or donation of services such as the use of volunteer instructors to present a training course.
5. VFA grants may be approved to fire training academies and rural fire departments, including those operated by federally recognized Indian tribes. Training recipients must come from fire departments that qualify for VFA funding. States may retain funding for program administration and to provide centralized purchasing, conversion, or rehabilitation of FEPP equipment, or training where the State forester provides these services directly to RFD's. Federal VFA funding must be matched at least 50 percent by rural fire departments and training academies and must qualify for VFA funds.

VFA Program Administration and Monitoring...