Fire Prevention and Investigation

Plain English Breakdown

The effectiveness of the rescue squad grant program in improving emergency response services remains to be seen, but this statement is speculative and cannot be verified from the provided sources.

Fire Prevention and Rescue Squad Grants Act

This bill establishes a new grant program for rescue squads and modifies an existing volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program.

What This Bill Does

• Establishes the rescue squad grant program to provide annual grants to rescue squads for purchasing firefighting and rescue equipment, excluding vehicles.
• Removes the requirement that volunteer fire departments must be classified by TFIRS as a volunteer fire department to receive grants.
• Clarifies that funds from the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program should be divided equally among three regions of Tennessee.
• Requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance to make rules for evaluating grant requests and choosing who gets the grants.
• Ensures all money given for these programs is used up each year.

Who It Names or Affects

• Volunteer fire departments in Tennessee
• Rescue squads in Tennessee

Terms To Know

TFIRS

Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System, which classifies volunteer fire departments.

Grand divisions

Three regions of Tennessee used for dividing grants equally among the state.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much money will be given to each grant program.
• It is unclear if all volunteer fire departments will qualify under the new rules without TFIRS classification.

Official Summary Text

Present law establishes the volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program to provide annual grants to select volunteer fire departments. Grant funds must be used for the purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet local match requirements
of federal grants for the purchase of firefighting equipment and training. As used in such program, a "volunteer fire department" means a fire department recognized by the state fire marshal's office and classified by the Tennessee Fire Incident Reportin
g
System (TFIRS) as a volunteer fire department. This bill removes the requirement that the fire department by classified by TFIRS as a volunteer fire department.

RESCUE SQUAD GRANT PROGRAM

This bill establishes the rescue squad grant program to provide annual grants to select rescue squads. Grant funds must be used for the purchase of firefighting equipment and rescue equipment but not vehicles. As used in such program, a "rescue squad"
means a department of a municipality, county, or political subdivision, or a nonprofit organization that offers its services, for or without pay, for the purposes of performing rescue services or other emergency response.

ADMINISTRATION AND RULEMAKING

Present law requires the commissioner of commerce and insurance ("commissioner") to promulgate rules to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determining grant recipients. The commissioner must decide which grants to award and disburse
the grants to the selected volunteer fire departments. Further, the commissioner must equally divide the grants awarded each year among the three grand divisions of this state.

This bill requires the commissioner to promulgate rules to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determining which volunteer fire departments or rescue squads will receive grants. The commissioner must decide which grants to award and t
hen disburse the grants to the selected departments and squads. This bill clarifies that the requirement to equally divide the total amount of grants among the three grand divisions of this state applies specifically to the volunteer firefighter equipmen
t
and training grant program and does not apply to the rescue squad grant program.

FUNDING AND REVERSION

Present law provides that any funds remaining in the program at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to the general fund but remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years. This bill requires the commissioner to endeavor to expend all fun
ds appropriated to the grant programs each year.

ON MARCH 16, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 1865 FOR HOUSE BILL 2531, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1865, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 clarifies that
the department of
commerce and insurance must
endeavor to distribute funding for the grant established in
the volunteer firefighter equipment and training program
proportionally based on the number of recognized volunteer fire departments serving each of the three

grand divisions of the state.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 2531
By Lamberth

SENATE BILL 1865
By Johnson
SB1865
011263
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 68,
Chapter 102, relative to grants.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 68-102-154, is amended by deleting
the section and substituting:
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Firefighting equipment":
(A) Means the equipment used by a firefighter to contain or
extinguish fires and to protect the life of the firefighter; and
(B) Does not include fire trucks or vehicles;
(2) "Rescue equipment":
(A) Means equipment used by a rescue squad for the purposes of
performing rescue services or other emergency response; and
(B) Does not include vehicles;
(3) "Rescue squad" means a department of a municipality, county, or
political subdivision, or a nonprofit organization that offers its services, for or
without pay, for the purposes of performing rescue services or other emergency
response; and
(4) "Volunteer fire department" means a fire department recognized by
the state fire marshal's office, pursuant to § 68-102-304, as a volunteer fire
department.
(b) The following grant programs are established:

- 2 - 011263

(1) The volunteer firefighter equipment and training grant program, to
annually provide grants to select volunteer fire departments to be used for the
purchase of firefighting equipment or to meet local match requirements of federal
grants for the purchase of firefighting equipment and training; and
(2) The rescue squad grant program, to annually provide grants to select
rescue squads to be used for the purchase of firefighting equipment and rescue
equipment.
(c) The total amount of grants awarded each year under the program
established by subdivision (b)(1) must be equally divided among the three (3) grand
divisions of this state.
(d) It is the legislative intent to fund the grant programs created by subsection (b)
by providing a sum-sufficient appropriation in each fiscal year's annual appropriation bill.
(e) The commissioner of commerce and insurance shall promulgate rules in
accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter
5, to establish guidelines for evaluating grant requests and determining which volunteer
fire departments or rescue squads will receive grants pursuant to this section.
(f) The commissioner of commerce and insurance shall decide which grants to
award and shall disburse the grants to the selected volunteer fire departments and
rescue squads. The commissioner shall endeavor to expend all funds appropriated to
the grant programs each year, and any funds remaining must not revert to the general
fund but remain available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.