AFG — the big federal grant for fire departments

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) is the one every department should know. It’s the largest federal source for the things a VFD actually needs — SCBA and PPE, training, equipment, wellness programs, facility retrofits, and vehicles — and for a small rural department, the terms are genuinely favorable.

First, the number that’s wrong everywhere

You’ll see “$648 million for fire grants” all over the internet. That’s the combined FY25 slate across three programs (AFG + SAFER + FP&S). AFG by itself is $291.6 million, for about 1,800 awards. Getting this right matters — it’s the difference between understanding your odds and misjudging them.

Why it’s built for small departments

• The match is tiny. Serve 20,000 people or fewer and your cost share is just 5% — cash. A $10,000 project costs your department about $476. (It must be cash; in-kind doesn’t count.)
• Micro Grants are the small-VFD lane. Up to $75,000 for high-priority safety items, and FEMA aims to put at least a quarter of each department type’s money into them — a real edge for a department with a focused need.
• A quarter of all AFG funds are reserved for volunteer departments specifically.

The strings to plan for

• Maintenance of Effort: you must keep your own spending at 80%+ of your prior two-year average, and the application wants three years of budget data.
• Reporting: funded departments must report incidents — which now means NERIS, since NFIRS retired. Not required to apply, but required during the award.

When it’s back

The FY25 window closed June 22, 2026 and awards run through September 30. There’s no open FEMA fire-grant window right now — the next NOFO is projected for spring 2027 (the last two cycles opened in mid-to-late spring with a ~5-week window). Use the off-season: subscribe to FEMA’s fire-grant alerts and prep in winter. And trust Grants.gov / FEMA GO for dates, not FEMA’s own program pages — they lag.