Pavliga Announces Funding for Fire Departments in Portage County

State Rep. Gail Pavliga (R-Portage County) announces local fire departments can now apply for a grant to be used for equipment and training costs. The grant derives from House Bill 110, the state budget, which passed last year with Pavliga’s support.

“The bipartisan budget bill I helped support and bring local funding to Portage County also includes this funding for our local fire departments,” said Pavliga. “These are important investments for our first responders, giving them the tools they need to assist those in our communities – I encourage our local departments to apply.” 

The Ohio Department of Commerce will disperse this funding through the Division of State Fire Marshal’s (SFM) fire department grant program. These grants will begin to be distributed in the spring of 2022.

To be eligible for the SFM grant program, the population of the community the department resides in must be less than or equal to 25,000. Additionally, $200,000 will be available for volunteer departments, township departments, and municipal departments.

To learn more about the program and to apply, please use the existing online SFM Equipment and Training Grant applications found at https://apps2.com.ohio.gov/fire/Grants/.