DOVER  — Delaware volunteer firefighters are asking state lawmakers to provide dedicated funding for local fire service companies.

Currently, volunteer fire companies receive state funds in an annual grants budget that also provides money to nonprofit groups and other community organizations.

But officials with the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association told legislative budget writers Monday that the life-and-death work done by volunteer firefighters sets them apart from other local groups, and that they deserve their own source of funding.

The association has said that fire service needs to be taken out of the grants budget and funded instead with public safety appropriations.

Meanwhile, the firefighters group says lawmakers should create a separate category in the grants budget to fund body armor for emergency medical technicians responding to potentially dangerous situations.