More than 1.5 billion acres in the United States are privately
owned or own by State and local governments. Basic fire protection
on these lands is the responsibility of State and local entities.
Rural firefighting resources are often the first line of defense
in meeting expanded protection needs for wildland-urban interface
fires. Of the more than 35,000 local fire agencies nationwide, 75%
are volunteer. They provide nearly 80% of initial attack on wildland
fires in the United States. These departments provide, at no cost,
wildfire and emergency protection service to 43% of the population,
at an estimated value of $36 billion per year. The Forest Service
has programs to help these crucial volunteers through their State
Foresters.
The Volunteer Fire Assistance Program (VFA),
formerly known as the Rural Community Fire Protection (RCFP) Program,
can provide Federal financial, technical,
and other assistance to State Foresters and other appropriate officials
to organize, train and equip fire departments in rural areas and
rural communities to suppress fires. A
rural community is defined as having 10,000 or less population.
This 10,000 population limit for participation in the VFA Program
facilitates distribution of available VFA funding to the most needy
fire departments.
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