Local Fire Departments Awarded Small County Volunteer Fire Department Grant
COLUMBUS –State Representative Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland) is pleased to announce that fire departments across Defiance, Paulding, Putnam and Van Wert counties have been awarded more than $806,000 through the newly created Small County Volunteer Fire Department (SCVFD) Grant Program, established in the state budget championed by House Republicans.
Funding will be used by small, volunteer fire departments to purchase essential equipment, upgrade facilities, and enhance access to firefighting training. The breakdown per department is as follows:
- Convoy Fire and EMs - $50,000
- Middle Point Fire Department - $50,000
- Grover Hill - $50,000
- Paulding Fire Department - $33,429.33
- Scott Fire and EMS - $50,000
- Columbus Grove/Pleasant Township Joint Fire District - $ 49,918.20
- Continental Volunteer Fire Department - $49,598.00
- Fort Jennings Volunteer Fire Department - $50,000.00
- Glandorf Volunteer Fire Department - $50,000.00
- Kalida Volunteer Fire Department - $49,854.00
- Leipsic Fire Department - $30,819.08
- Miller City Volunteer Fire Department - $50,000.00
- Ottawa Volunteer Fire Department - $45,600.00
- Ottoville Volunteer Fire Dept - $44,315.94
- Farmer Township Volunteer Fire Department - $50,000.00
- Jewell Fire Department - $47,340.00
- Ney Washington Twp Fire Dept - $28,134.46
- Sherwood Village Fire Department - $27,785.00
“These volunteer fire departments are the backbone of our rural communities, answering the call at all hours to keep our families, farms, and businesses safe,” said Representative Klopfenstein. “This funding will help ensure they have the equipment and training to continue providing high-quality emergency response services. I was proud to support the creation of this program in the state budget to deliver real results for our small-town fire departments and the residents who depend on them.”
Overall, the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal awarded a total of $7,997,960 to 190 departments across 49 Ohio counties.
According to the 2023 Governor’s Volunteer Fire Service Task Force report, approximately 70% of Ohio’s nearly 1,200 fire departments rely on volunteers, but there continues to be a steady decrease in volunteer firefighters. From 2018 to 2021, there was a 6.5% decrease in volunteer firefighters, but a 9% increase in calls from 2018 to 2020.