Peninsula fire departments receive grant funding

Thirty-three rural fire departments within the state were awarded funds in a total amount of $306,292.

Logo for the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection. (Image via Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection)

Logo for the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection. (Image via Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection)

Nine fire departments on the Kenai Peninsula recently received grant funding to purchase tools and equipment to help fight structure and wildland fires.

According to a Jan. 30 press release from the Department of Natural Resources, 33 rural fire departments within the state were awarded funds in a total amount of $306,292 by the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection “to improve firefighting capabilities and enhance protection in the wildland-urban interface.”

Though the state distributes money to eligible rural volunteer fire departments that have applied for annual grants, the funds come from the USDA Forest Service as part of the federal Volunteer Fire Capacity program, the release states. To qualify, fire departments must serve a population of 10,000 or less, be a registered fire department with the Alaska Division of Fire & Life Safety and provide at least a 10% match in non-federal funds.

The fire departments awarded may use the funds to purchase personal protective equipment, hoses, pumps, tools and other resources used to fight both structure and wildland fires.

On the Kenai Peninsula, the Homer Volunteer Fire Department, Western Emergency Services Area, Central Emergency Services Area, Moose Pass Volunteer Fire Company, Lowell Point Volunteer Fire Department, Cooper Landing Volunteer Fire Department, Bear Creek Fire/EMS Department, Seward Fire Department and Nikiski Fire Department were awarded funds through the grant program.

The annual award cap for 2025 was increased to $10,000 per applicant, which according to the release is a “substantial increase” from $7,000 in 2024 and $6,000 in 2023.

“The significant increase underscores a commitment to addressing the urgent need for resources in rural firefighting,” the release states.

Find more information on the Volunteer Fire Capacity program at forestry.alaska.gov/fire/vfc.

More in News

Syverine Bentz, coastal training program coordinator for the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, displays a board of ideas during a Local Solutions meeting focused on salmon at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
In search of salmon solutions

Cook Inletkeeper hosts meeting to develop community project to help salmon.

Lisa Gabriel, left, watches as beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
CFEC to consider seines for east side setnet fishery

The change is contingent on the State Board of Fisheries approving the gear during their March meeting.

A map of 2025 construction projects scheduled for the Kenai Peninsula. (Provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
Department of Transportation announces construction plans

Most of the projects include work to various major highways.

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward adds full-time staffer for recently restarted teen rec room

Seward’s Parks and Recreation Department reclaimed responsibility for teen programming at the start of this year.

Gavin Ley stands with the “Go-Shopping Kart” he designed and built in his career and technical education courses at Nikiski Middle/High School in Nikiski, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski students learn professional skills through technical education

Career and technical education gives students opportunity to learn skills, express themselves creatively, work cooperatively and make decisions.

Nikiski teachers, students and parents applaud Nikiski Middle/High Principal Mike Crain as he’s recognized as the Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals 2025 Region III Principal of the Year by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education during their meeting in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski principal named Region III principal of the year

Crain has served as Nikiski’s principal for three years.

An 86 pound Kenai River king salmon is measured in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 1995. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion File)
Kenai River king salmon fishing closed entirely for 3rd year

Kenai River king salmon were designated a stock of management concern in 2023.

The Kenai Peninsula College Main Entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
University of Alaska Board of Regents to meet in Soldotna

The last time the board met on the Kenai Peninsula was April 2012.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education member Penny Vadla and student representative Emerson Kapp speak to the joint Alaska House and Senate education committees in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)
KPBSD among dozens of districts to deliver in-person testimony to Alaska Legislature

Districts spotlighted programs already lost over years of stagnant funding that hasn’t met inflationary pressure.

Most Read