MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Seventy fire departments and rescue squads across East Tennessee were awarded more than $3.25 million in grant funds Monday during a luncheon hosted in Morristown by the Tennessee Department of Chamber and Insurance and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Purpose and local impact
The awards are intended to help volunteer and municipal departments purchase equipment and improve response capacity. Local departments have already signaled how the money will be used: the New Market Fire Department said the grant it received would go toward buying firefighter equipment and improving response times.
"Honored to receive a $10,460.00 grant through the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office to strengthen our fire department," New Market Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post. "The money will be used to purchase firefighter equipment to fully equip our department and improve safety response time."
Commissioner Carter Lawrence presented the grants at the Morristown event while officials from the State Fire Marshal’s Office participated in the ceremony. Organizers described the luncheon as a way to publicly recognize departments that applied for and won funding.
Who received funding
The distribution covered a mix of volunteer and career departments and local rescue squads spread across East Tennessee. Officials said the grants are part of a broader effort to support local emergency services, particularly smaller departments that rely on state money to maintain equipment and training.
- Total departments and squads awarded: 70
- Total grant money announced: more than $3.25 million
- Event location: Morristown luncheon
- Presenting agencies: Tennessee Department of Chamber and Insurance and Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office
Numbers at a glance
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Departments and rescue squads | 70 |
| Total grant funds | More than $3.25 million |
| Announcement location | Morristown, Tenn. |
For many smaller volunteer departments, grants of several thousand dollars can pay for turnout gear, self-contained breathing apparatus components, radios, extraction tools or other items that directly affect firefighter safety and the speed of emergency response. Local officials have described such awards as essential for keeping personnel and communities safe.
News Block reached out to state officials for additional details about the breakdown of awards by county and the application process; those requests were pending at the time of publication. Departments that received grants have been encouraged to share how the funds will be spent to keep their communities informed.
Residents who rely on local volunteer departments said they appreciate visible investment in emergency services. The grants are part of ongoing state-level efforts to support first responders across Tennessee.
