Fifteen of Montgomery County’s 18 volunteer fire and rescue departments misused state grant funds and made unauthorized purchases in the last fiscal year, creating the potential for fraud and abuse, county-commissioned auditors found.

Auditors with the firm Rager, Lehman and Houck found errors related to state grants in six departments. For example, the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department spent $50,000 in grant funds on materials that were supposed to be paid for using money the department had raised privately, according to auditors. The funds were replaced when the error was discovered.

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