The Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant (KFRSG) for FY23 is now open! Grants issued through the KFRSG program will cover the costs of safety gear for volunteer and part-time firefighters. This includes bunker or wildland gear and new masks for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) units for department members. Funding will also be available for junior firefighter programs and physicals not covered by the individual’s insurance or reimbursed by their department, as well as for the purchase of strategically placed washer-extractor machines throughout the state. The OSFM makes this grant possible through its budget passed by the State Legislature and signed by Governor Laura Kelly. Funding includes 1.2 million from the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act ) and 100,000 from the fire marshal fee fund for a total of 1.3 million dollars. All to be spent by June 30^th of 2023.

To be eligible for the grant, applicants must be an established and recognized Kansas volunteer/part-time fire department in good standing with OSFM on the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). If there are questions about the department’s NFIRS status please contact William Hall (william.hall@ks.gov). Departments must also participate in the Comprehensive Resource Management & Credentialing System (CRMCS). If there are questions regarding CRMCS, please reach out to your county Emergency Manager or Brian Rogers (brian.rogers@ks.gov) from KDEM. Departments can submit an application and continue to work on completing their NFIRS and CRMCS participation by the deadline of September 1, 2022.

Submission requirements can be found by following this link. Please locate the “Overview” document (which details the specifications of the grant) and applications at the bottom of that link. Applications are due in our office no later than 4 pm on September 1, 2022.  Grant awards will be announced on September 30, 2022.