Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Wayne Goodwin announced that the Sunny View Fire & Rescue was awarded a $28,505.32 grant through the 2009 Volunteer Fire Department Fund from the State of North Carolina.

The check will be mailed to Chief Marty McGuinn to be used by the department to purchase needed equipment. The equipment is purchased using matching funds and must be approved by the Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal.

Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets dont grow with their responsibilities, Commissioner Goodwin said. Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equipment and supplies needed to do their jobs correctly and safely.

I know the Sunny View Fire & Rescue will use this money to serve their community even better, Goodwin added. Thank you, Chief Marty McGuinn, for all of your hard work and thanks to your dedicated staff.

Sunny View Fire & Rescue has received a total of $128,665.01 from the Volunteer Fire Department Fund in the past 22 years since the program began.

The General Assembly created the Volunteer Fire Department Fund in 1988 to help volunteer units raise money for equipment and supplies. The grant funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to an approved amount, by monies raised locally to purchase necessary equipment.

Since the programs inception, the Department of Insurance has distributed more than $65 million to volunteer fire departments across the state.