National Park Service announces 2018 grant recipients

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The Arkansas National Parks Fire Management Group has announced the recipients of the 2018 Rural Fire Readiness (RFR) grant program. The RFR grant program provides funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service (NPS) Office of Wildland Fire Management, to rural fire departments and fire associations. The agencies respond to wildland fire incidents on lands under NPS protection and have a cooperative wildfire response agreement with the NPS.The grant money may be used to fund needed supplies, trainings, equipment, wildfire prevention, and wildfire mitigation materials and activities.
The Arkansas National Parks Fire Management Group consists of Pea Ridge National Military Park, Buffalo National River, Fort Smith National Historic Site, Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas Post National Memorial, President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site, and Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.

Each department included in the grant program was eligible to receive up to $4000 worth of funds to use towards filling their wildland fire program needs.

Tim Fondriest, Wildland Fire Operations Specialist for the Arkansas National Parks Fire Management Group, says the grants are a way to provide the volunteer fire departments with wildland fire training and the equipment they need to safely engage these wildfires.

According to NPS Fire Management Officer Fenn Wimberly, the Rural Fire Departments are often the first units to respond to wildfire because they receive the 911 calls first and are located nearby.

Buffalo National River area volunteer fire departments (VFDs) across the Twin Lakes Area include:
·         Mt. Sherman VFD – Newton County
·         Jasper VFD – Newton County
·         Parthenon VFD – Newton County
·         HA-RA-CO VFD – Searcy County
·         Deer VFD – Searcy County
·         Western Grove VFD – Newton County
·         Rea Valley VFD – Marion County
·         Ralph-Caney VFD – Marion County
·         Snowball VFD – Searcy County
·         Ponca VFD – Newton County
·         Mt. Judea VFD – Newton County
·         Krooked Kreek VFD – Boone & Newton County
·         Compton VFD – Newton County
·         Hasty VFD – Newton County
·         Marshall VFD – Searcy County
·         Pindall, Gilbert & St. Joe VFD – Searcy County

Other VFD grant recipients across the state include the Pea Ridge National Military Park area departments:

·         Northeast Benton County (NEBCO) Fire Department – Benton County
·         Avoca VFD – Benton County
·         Pea Ridge VFD – Benton County
Hot Springs National Park area departments:
·         Hot Springs FD – City of Hot Springs / Garland County
·         Morning Star VFD – Garland County
·         Fountain Lake VFD – Garland County
·         Piney VFD – Garland County

Arkansas Post National Memorial area department:
·         Gillett VFD – Deshea County

For more information visit www.nps.gov .

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