by IMT Program Coordinator Andy Johnson
The South Carolina Forestry Commission’s 2025 Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Program generated another strong response from the state’s fire service community, with 83 fire departments submitting more than $320,000 in funding requests. The VFA program, funded through the USDA Forest Service and administered by the SCFC, provides 50/50 matching grants to help volunteer and rural departments strengthen their wildland fire response capability, particularly in the wildland urban interface.
This year’s requests reflect the continued need for wildland personal protective equipment (PPE), portable pumps, slip-on units, hose, hand tools, communications equipment and other frontline suppression resources that directly improve firefighter safety and response effectiveness.
The strong participation highlights the value local departments place on maintaining readiness as South Carolina continues to face growing wildfire risk across rural and wildland urban interface (WUI) communities.
The 2025 request volume demonstrates the continued strength of the state-local partnership model, ensuring volunteer departments remain equipped, trained, and ready to support wildfire suppression efforts alongside SCFC personnel.