Includes Darfur, Ormsby, Lewisville, St. James and Odin
Five fire departments in Watonwan County recently received grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Volunteer Fire Assistance grant program.
Those awards included $2,500 each for the Darfur Fire Department, Lewisville Fire Department and Ormsby Fire Department; $2,000 to the St. James Fire Department and $1,700 to the Odin Fire Department.
The grant program provides financial and technical assistance to fire departments in Minnesota that serve cities or communities with populations under 10,000.
The program’s primary objectives are saving lives and protecting property in rural areas. Rural fire departments must use the grant money for fire protection and comply with existing state and county rural fire protection plans.
The grants are made on a 50:50 match basis.
A total of 173 fire departments across the state shared total awards of $372,700 in matching grants for 2015.
