LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Division announced that applications for wildland fire suppression kits will be open through October 20, 2023.
The Forestry Division received $293,154 through a United States Forest Service grant that will be used to provide 85 kits to rural volunteer fire departments across the state this year.
Volunteer fire departments are primary partners to Forestry Division crews in wildfire response and suppression, but they are often in need of specialized equipment and gear necessary in order to do their job safely.
Each kit includes lightweight wildfire-resistant coveralls, wildland gloves, rakes, backpack water pumps, and leaf blowers. Since 2014, more than 670 wildland fire suppression kits have been distributed.
Rural volunteer fire departments have been encouraged to apply online, but paper applications are also available upon request.
Applications are scored according to specific criteria to include the population of the fire district, the number of square miles covered, the average number of wildfires a department responds to annually, and more.
The selected departments will be notified in November and kits will be delivered in the spring of 2024 earlier.
The application can be found online here. Fire departments with questions can contact Kathryn Mahan-Hooten at kathryn.mahan@agriculture.arkansas.gov or (501) 679-3183. For more information, please click here.