MARCS Grant

The Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of State Fire Marshal, is offering the MARCS Grant to support eligible Ohio fire protection entities in acquiring systems, equipment, and services that are part of, integrated into, or interoperable with the State of Ohio Multi-Agency Radio Communication System. The program is intended to provide supplemental funding for communications capabilities used in providing fire protection services. Eligible recipients include qualifying volunteer fire departments, fire departments serving small municipal corporations or small townships, joint fire districts, local governments operating qualifying fire departments, and qualifying small municipalities or small townships that contract with a private fire company or another unit of local government for fire protection services. For purposes of the program, a small municipality or small township has fewer than 25,000 permanent residents. Eligible grant expenditures include MARCS mobile and portable radios configured to MARCS specifications, approved MARCS accessories, certain monthly MARCS service fees for up to 12 months, vendor radio programming, installation, and mounting. State Fire Marshal funding for the basic radio expense is limited to $3,000 per radio; a recipient selecting a radio costing more than $3,000 must cover the additional basic radio cost. Eligible accessories include items identified on the approved worksheets, such as shoulder microphones, holsters, antennas and antenna accessories, batteries, cables, chargers and charger accessories, mounts, speakers, and Bluetooth functionality. Monthly service fees are calculated at $5 per radio per month for 12 months, although equipment purchases receive priority over service fees. Ineligible requests include dual band features and functionality, pagers that are not compatible with MARCS, and warranties or insurance for radio equipment. The maximum grant award is $50,000 for each eligible recipient, and requests exceeding that amount will be reduced accordingly. This is not a matching grant. Equipment and services purchased with grant funds become the property of the applicable township, municipal corporation, or qualifying joint fire district. Grant recipients may not purchase grant-funded equipment or services until they have received an award agreement from the State Fire Marshal, signed it, and returned it. Newly purchased radio equipment must be activated with Ohio MARCS within three months after delivery and remain on the system for at least 12 months. Recipients must maintain auditable grant records for three years after all conditions have been met and make purchased items and records available to the State Fire Marshal upon request. Applicants must satisfy the applicable organizational eligibility requirements and program compliance conditions. All applicants must comply with Ohio Revised Code Section 3737.24 concerning fire incident reporting, and applicants subject to the Volunteer Firefighters Dependents Fund requirements in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 146 must be compliant with those requirements. Noncompliance can result in disqualification. A private fire company cannot directly receive a MARCS Grant, but an otherwise qualifying local government that contracts with a private fire company may apply, and grant-funded equipment or services may be used by that company as part of its contracted services. Applicants must obtain a quote for all requested equipment, and vendor quotes must remain valid through February 28, 2027. Applications open September 13, 2026 and must be submitted by October 24, 2026. The completed submission consists of the online MARCS Grant application, the approved MARCS Mobile and Portable Equipment or Services Worksheets, and a scanned vendor quote valid through February 28, 2027. Applications must be submitted electronically through the State Fire Marshal grant system; paper and faxed applications are not accepted. The application requests organizational eligibility information, the Fire Department Identification Number, firefighter staffing counts, fire incident reporting and Volunteer Firefighters Dependents Fund compliance information when applicable, contact information, population and square miles protected, operating budget, fire incident statistics, federal tax identification information, fiscal officer information, Ohio Supplier Number, information concerning multi-jurisdictional MARCS efforts, certifications, submitter information, and supporting documentation. Applications must be certified by the appropriate authorized personnel. Eligible applications are scored using information supplied in the application. Scoring considers resident population protected, fire protection area size, the 2026 calendar year operating budget, the number of qualifying fire incidents, and multi-jurisdictional requests. Smaller operating budgets generally receive more points, while larger qualifying populations, protection areas, and numbers of fire incidents can increase scoring. Collaborative applications from multiple jurisdictions in the same county or region may receive special consideration. In a scoring tie, available funds are prioritized first to the eligible recipient with the lowest operating budget, then the recipient with the largest protection area, and then the recipient with the largest population. Applicants with the highest scores that satisfy eligibility requirements receive awards subject to the availability of funds. After the review process is completed, grant agreements or award letters will be mailed or emailed to successful eligible recipients, while non-award letters will be sent in approximately the same timeframe. Grant funds are disbursed shortly after signed award agreements are returned to the State Fire Marshal, and the program is not structured as a reimbursement grant. Questions concerning the MARCS Grant may be directed to grant administration at 614-752-7123 or commercegrants@com.ohio.gov. Questions concerning fire incident reporting compliance may be directed to the Fire Prevention Bureau at 614-752-7115. No specific award notification date or grant performance end date is stated in the provided materials.

Submit every required component electronically by the deadline and ensure the vendor quote remains valid through February 28, 2027. Confirm fire incident reporting and applicable Volunteer Firefighters Dependents Fund compliance before applying because noncompliance can cause disqualification. Ensure population, protection area, operating budget, and fire incident figures are accurate because they affect scoring. Applicants pursuing county-wide or regional MARCS coverage should identify all collaborating agencies because collaborative requests may receive special consideration or priority. Do not order or purchase grant-funded equipment or services until the award agreement has been received, signed, and returned.