Federal Excess Personal

Property Program

The Federal Excess Personal Property Program (FEPP) is a program where the USDA Forest Service has loaned property to State Foresters for the purpose of wildland and rural firefighting. State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service have mutually participated in the FEPP program since 1956. The participations stems from the USDA Forest Service authorization to furnish fire control stocks to state from USDA Forest Service warehouses.

The Federal Property and Administrative Service Act of 1949, as amended and section 7 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 authorize and encourage the Secretary of Agriculture to loan FEPP to state and through them, to local fire forces. Approximately 70 percent of the property involved in the USDA Forest Service FEPP program is sub-loaned to local fire departments.

Mississippi Forestry Commission's Relationship to County Fire Coordinators and Prioritization of VFD Requests

The Mississippi Forestry Commission, along with the County Fire Coordinators, have developed a request form that prioritizes requests from the volunteer fire departments (VFD). This puts all VFD's on equal footing so that one is not favored over another. The Mississippi Forestry Commission Federal Excess Coordinator will meet with any VFD, or groups of VFDs, to answer any questions and explain the rules and regulations of the FEPP program.

Roscommon Equipment Center is a cooperative program between the National Association of State Foresters and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, develops and tests equipment for wildland fire control. It is located at the Forest Fire Experiment Station, Roscommon, Michigan. Founded in 1972, REC specializes in the conversion of U.S. Military vehicles to wildland fire suppression units. It also focuses on the equipment development needs of state and local wildfire forces.

For more information on the FEPP program, contact:

Sandra Snell

FEPP/VFA Coordinator

3139 Highway 468 West

Pearl, MS 39208

(601) 420-6016 office

(601) 420-6019 fax

(601) 668-8499 cell

ssnell@mfc.state.ms.us