The Minburn Fire Department was recently chosen as a recipient for a federal grant through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which will help the department battle wildfires.

Minburn was one of 100 cities in Iowa to receive a portion of around $230,000 in grants given through the Volunteer Fire Assistance program, which provides funding at a 50% match for fire departments in cities under 10,000 in population. The department received $566 in funding, which can be used to purchase wildfire suppression, personal protective, or communications equipment.

The VFA program has been around since 1990, and provides financial, technical, and other assistance to rural fire departments through state forestry agencies. The goal is to enable the smaller fire departments to combat wildfires to improve the overall health of forest land and other wildlife areas throughout the state.