Quay rural fire departments to receive grants

The New Mexico Fire Grant Council last week announced five rural departments in Quay County will receive more than $850,000 in grants for equipment for fiscal year 2021.

These are the local grant recipients, the amount and how the funds will be used:

• Forrest, $35,988, personal protective equipment;

• Conservancy No. 2, $125,151, personal protective equipment;

• Quay, $92,296, self-contained breathing apparatus;

• Bard-Endee, $300,000, firetruck;

• Nara Visa, $300,000, firetruck.

The council awarded more than $20 million in grants to more than 100 fire departments across the state. That fund total is more than three times the amount awarded the previous year, according to a news release — largely due to Senate Bill 256 that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law earlier this year.

The bipartisan legislation reversed a 2017 law that required that 60% of the potential funding for the fire protection grant be reverted to the general fund instead. Fire departments now have access to 100% of the available capital in the fire protection grant.

Senate Bill 256 also created a new category of grant funding that enables volunteer fire departments to apply for $25,000 in stipends to assist with recruiting, retaining and educating new firefighters.

“These grants represent a historic investment in New Mexico’s fire departments,” Deputy State Fire Marshal Randy Varela said.

While it is unlikely there will be major changes to these awards, the grant process requires additional documentation and financial vetting before departments can receive the funds, said Brian Saylor, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.