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RALEIGH – Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey announced that the Merry Hill-Midway Volunteer Fire Department was awarded a $30,000 grant through the 2023 Volunteer Fire Department Fund from the State of North Carolina.

The check will be mailed to Merry Hill-Midway Fire Chief Jodey Bruce Sary 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 don’t grow with their responsibilities,” Commissioner Causey 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 Merry Hill-Midway Volunteer Fire Department will use this money to serve their community even better,”

Causey added. “Thank you, Chief Jodey Bruce Sary, for all of your hard work and thanks to your dedicated staff.”

Merry Hill-Midway Volunteer Fire Department has received a total of $267,080.87 from the Volunteer Fire Department Fund in the past 35 years since the program began.

The North Carolina 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 for an amount approved up to $30,000, unless the department receives less than $50,000 per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the applicant shall match $1 for each $3 of grant funds up to $30,000.

Since the program’s inception, the Department of Insurance has distributed $167,334,075.94 to volunteer fire departments across the state.