Eight Finger Lakes fire departments and local governments will share more than $2.6 million in state grants for station upgrades, protective equipment and other capital needs, including a $1 million award for the Farmington Volunteer Fire Association in Ontario County.
The regional awards are part of $25 million distributed to 65 volunteer fire departments and districts statewide through New York's Volunteer Fire Infrastructure and Response Equipment program, known as V-FIRE.
Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced the awards Wednesday. The program is administered by the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and is intended to help departments modernize facilities and equipment without placing the full cost on local taxpayers.
Finger Lakes awards total $2.6 million
Farmington received the largest award in the region and was one of 10 departments statewide awarded the program maximum of $1 million.
The Branchport Keuka Park Fire District in Yates County was awarded $475,000, while the Village of Waterloo in Seneca County will receive $391,331.
The Village of Manchester Volunteer Fire Department in Ontario County was awarded $296,000. The Village of Red Creek Fire Department in Wayne County will receive $264,741.
The remaining Finger Lakes awards went to the Kendall Fire Department in Orleans County, which received $114,000; Wyoming County, which received $45,387; and the Village of Geneseo in Livingston County, which received $19,233.
The state listed the eight Finger Lakes awards at a combined $2,605,692.
Several nearby departments were funded through other state regions. Fair Haven, King Ferry, Sennett and Weedsport in Cayuga County received awards ranging from $52,790 to $1 million through the Central New York allocation.
In the Southern Tier, the Village of Odessa Fire Department in Schuyler County was awarded $28,891, the Painted Post Fire Department in Steuben County received $261,578 and Erin Fire District No. 1 in Chemung County received $390,205.
Money can support stations and safety equipment
V-FIRE grants can pay for construction or renovation of fire stations, classrooms, meeting spaces and training centers. Projects must improve safety, structural conditions, building-code compliance or firefighting practices.
Departments may also use the money for personal protective equipment, protective-gear washers and dryers, decontamination supplies and vehicle-exhaust removal systems. Those investments are intended in part to reduce firefighters' exposure to carcinogens.
The program also supports regionalization and consolidation projects that allow departments to share resources and strengthen mutual-aid responses beyond their normal jurisdictional boundaries.
State officials said nearly 9 million New Yorkers, or close to half the state's population, depend on volunteer firefighters for fire protection and emergency response. Volunteer departments also answer vehicle crashes, medical calls, hazardous-material incidents and weather-related rescues.
Calls for service increased 29% from 1997 to 2020, according to the governor's office, while more than 75% of volunteer departments have reported declining interest in volunteering.
Second round builds on earlier grants
This is the second $25 million round of V-FIRE funding. The state awarded the first round to 88 volunteer departments in October 2024.
Along with capital grants, New York has allowed local governments to offer volunteer first responders a property-tax exemption of up to 10%. The state also created a training stipend program that has compensated more than 5,500 firefighters for completing foundational courses.
Another law allows volunteer departments to bill insurers for emergency medical services, creating a potential revenue source for departments that provide ambulance or related care.
State Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Terry O'Leary said the grants are meant to keep volunteer departments resilient and prepared. Fire service organizations said the funding can help departments replace aging equipment, improve stations and limit pressure on local property taxes.
The state Office of Fire Prevention and Control will continue to provide training, fire prevention, investigative, special-operations and technical-rescue services to departments across New York.
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