Fire Department Grants for Apparatus: AFG, VFA and USDA

Three federal routes pay for fire apparatus: the Assistance to Firefighters Grant, USDA Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, and state-administered Volunteer Fire Assistance awards. Which ones your department qualifies for depends almost entirely on the population you serve, and the thresholds are specific.

What grants can a fire department use to buy a fire truck?

Four programs matter, and only three of them will pay for apparatus. Find your population in the left column and read across.

Two things fall out of that table immediately. Small rural departments have the most doors open and the most generous terms, and every route except AFG closes above 20,000 residents. If you serve a mid-size city, AFG is effectively your only apparatus grant.

The other thing worth knowing before you start is what you are applying for. A grant application is stronger when it names a real truck at a real price rather than an estimate, so it is worth looking at what a used fire truck costs and seeing what a grant-funded budget buys before you write anything.

What does AFG fund, and what will it cost your department to match?

AFG funds apparatus directly. Vehicle Acquisition is one of its named activities, alongside Operations and Safety and the Regional program, so a fire truck is not an edge case you have to argue for.

The cost share is where departments get caught out. FEMA’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant program requires the applicant to provide non-federal funds of at least:

• 5% when the jurisdiction serves 20,000 residents or fewer
• 10% when it serves more than 20,000 but not more than 1 million
• 15% when it serves more than 1 million

Two details matter more than the percentages. The match must be cash. In-kind contribution is not allowable for AFG, so donated labor, a trade-in or equipment you already own will not count toward it. And the percentage is calculated on the federal award, so a department serving 8,000 people that wins $250,000 needs $12,500 in actual money available.

For scale on the FY2026 cycle, FEMA made $291.6 million available through AFG, with applications open from 19 May to 22 June 2026.

Does the SAFER grant pay for fire apparatus?

No. SAFER funds people, not equipment.

This is worth stating plainly because SAFER is the larger program by dollars. In FY2026 it carried $324 million against AFG’s $291.6 million, and it turns up constantly in searches for fire department funding. Departments reasonably assume the bigger fire grant must cover the biggest purchase.

SAFER exists to increase or maintain the number of trained front-line firefighters. It runs two activities: hiring firefighters, and recruitment and retention of volunteers. For hiring, eligible costs are salary and associated benefits, and overtime is not reimbursable. There is no apparatus category and no equipment category.

If your problem is staffing, SAFER is the right program and it is generously funded. If your problem is a truck that should have been replaced five years ago, SAFER cannot help and applying to it costs you a cycle.

What can rural and volunteer departments get outside AFG?

Two programs, and between them they are the most underused money in the fire service.

USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program. This is the one most departments have never heard of, and it names fire trucks as an eligible purchase outright. It serves rural areas with populations of 20,000 or fewer, and applicants can be municipalities, counties, special-purpose districts, non-profits or tribal governments. The grant share is tiered:

• up to 75% for communities of 5,000 or fewer with median household income below the poverty line or 60% of the state non-metropolitan median
• up to 55% for communities of 12,000 or fewer
• up to 15% for communities of 20,000 or fewer with median household income below the poverty line or 90% of the state non-metropolitan median

It is a loan and grant program, so the grant is usually paired with a low-interest direct loan covering the rest. For a small, low-income community, a 75% grant share is better than anything AFG offers.

Volunteer Fire Assistance. VFA is federal money from the USDA Forest Service passed to state forestry agencies, which award it to departments in rural areas. A rural community here means 10,000 residents or fewer.

Awards run on a 50/50 match and are generally capped around $10,000, with particular attention to departments in the wildland-urban interface. That will not buy a truck on its own, but it will cover a skid unit, pumps or protective equipment, and it frees other money for apparatus.

VFA rules and deadlines vary by state, because each state forestry agency runs its own program. Your state forester is the right first call, not a federal office.

When do you apply, and which programs are open year-round?

The calendars are completely different, and this is the practical difference between waiting eight months and applying this week.

What do you do if the grant does not cover the whole truck?

Assume it will not. AFG pays most of an award but never the match, VFA caps out around $10,000, and USDA’s grant share tops out at 75% only for the smallest and lowest-income communities. Almost every grant-funded apparatus purchase has a gap.

Two things close it. The first is buying used. A grant that covers 55% of a $900,000 new pumper still leaves $405,000 to find.

The same award against an inspected, certified used unit can cover the truck outright. A used truck stretches an award further than any application-writing trick, which is worth weighing when you are comparing a new build against a used truck.

The second is financing the remainder. A grant and a municipal lease-purchase are complements rather than alternatives, and the common structure is a grant covering part of the cost with the balance financed. Our guide to pairing a grant with a municipal lease-purchase covers how the tax-exempt mechanism works and why most leases avoid a voter referendum.

One practical note on documentation. Grant-funded purchases have to survive an audit, and a truck with a current third-party NFPA pump test, current aerial certification where applicable, and a documented inspection file is far easier to justify than an as-is auction buy. Every truck we sell goes through a 150-point inspection with third-party certification, which is as useful in a grant file as it is on the apparatus floor.

Frequently asked questions about fire department grants

Can a volunteer fire department get a grant for a fire truck?

Yes, and volunteer departments often have the most routes available. If you serve 10,000 residents or fewer you may qualify for VFA through your state forester, and if you serve 20,000 or fewer you may qualify for USDA Community Facilities, which names fire trucks as eligible. AFG is open to volunteer departments at the lowest cost-share tier of 5%.

What is the difference between AFG and SAFER?

AFG funds equipment, apparatus, training and safety. SAFER funds staffing, meaning salaries and benefits for hiring firefighters plus volunteer recruitment and retention. SAFER will not pay for a fire truck under any activity. If you need apparatus, AFG is the FEMA program that applies.

How much does a fire department have to match on an AFG grant?

At least 5% for jurisdictions of 20,000 residents or fewer, at least 10% for more than 20,000 up to 1 million, and at least 15% above 1 million. The match must be non-federal cash. In-kind contributions, donated labor and trade-in value do not count toward it.

Are there grants for fire trucks that are open all year?

Yes. The USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program accepts applications on a rolling basis through USDA Rural Development state offices, so there is no annual window to wait for. AFG runs one application period a year, and VFA deadlines are set individually by each state forestry agency.

Will a grant cover the entire cost of a fire truck?

Rarely. AFG always requires a cash match, VFA awards are generally capped around $10,000, and USDA’s grant share reaches 75% only for the smallest, lowest-income communities. Most departments close the gap by buying a used apparatus, financing the balance through a municipal lease-purchase, or both.

Talk to us before you write the application

Fire Truck Center has been selling quality-tested used fire apparatus since 2015 from 1991 Hartel Ave, Levittown, PA 19057, with hundreds of trucks delivered across 49 states. Every truck gets a 150-point inspection with third-party pump testing and certification, and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

Sources

• FEMA — Assistance to Firefighters Grants
• FEMA — Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER)
• FEMA — DHS Makes $648 Million Available to Help Firefighters and First Responders (18 May 2026)
• USDA Rural Development — Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program
• FEMA — FY2024 AFG Notice of Funding Opportunity (cost-share bands)
• USDA Forest Service — Volunteer Fire Assistance, administered by state forestry agencies