Alliance for Green Heat Receives $75,370 FEMA Award to Prevent Fires and Enhance Safety in Wood-Heated Homes

For Immediate Release
Contact: Hannah Stinson, Program Manager, Alliance for Green Heat
Hannah@forgreenheat.org

Shell, WY – The Alliance for Green Heat (AGH) has been awarded $75,370 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reduce fire risk in vulnerable wood-heated homes. The grant funded project is the nation’s first fire prevention and safety program targeting firewood banks and wood-burning households. Six community firewood banks will be selected to reduce risk for low-income, rural households who burn firewood as their primary heating source. 

“This project is the nation’s first fire prevention and safety program targeting firewood banks and wood burning households”, said Hannah Stinson, Program Manager at AGH. “We will bring six firewood banks together with their local fire departments to reduce the chance of fire and protect the well-being of our most vulnerable community members,” Stinson. Stinson is a volunteer firefighter in Wyoming. 

AGH works with the U.S. Forest Service to administer a national firewood bank program. Firewood banks, similar to food banks, provide free firewood to low-income families in rural areas.  Wood burning households face increased risk of chimney and stove-related fires due to limited resources for regular maintenance or safety upgrades. 

Six community firewood banks will be selected to work with local fire departments to install smoke and CO detectors and distribute $10,000 of safety accessories. Media events will be held to highlight the specific issues facing wood heated homes.

Since 2002, the FP&S Grant Program has awarded approximately $888 million in grant funding to provide critically needed resources to strengthen community fire prevention programs and enable scientific research on innovations that improve firefighter safety, health, and well-being. For more information on FEMA grants click here.