Chili FD receives grant for radio equipment

Chili FD receives grant for radio equipment

In order to comply with new radio frequencies being implemented by Monroe County, the Chili Fire Department has begun the task of upgrading and replacing its radio equipment. The group received help in the form of a $92,118 grant from the Assistance to Firefighters grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The department, which encompasses 27 square miles, serves about 30,000 residences and has 180 volunteers, still has to raise between $10,000 and $15,000 for the equipment, but Fire Chief Chris Fish said the grant goes a long way toward the upgrades. The money was specifically targeted to help the department upgrade and replace radio communication equipment both at the base station and at the dispatch office.

"We also have to purchase mobile and portable radios for the trucks and the volunteers," he said. "Fire departments are scrambling to address specific needs with equipment."

Fish said the department will have to prioritize projects it had within its budget to meet the shortfall in the money to purchase the equipment and will likely have fundraisers.

"The $92,000 goes a long way toward the upgrade but doesn't cover it all," he said. "It's an expensive undertaking as we have 18 trucks to equip and we don't want to do anything that would impact taxpayers."

When the county makes its final switch to the new radio frequency in 2006, present radios won't work, Fish said.

"In order to create more bandwidth, the FCC has gone to more narrow banding of radio frequencies and because the older radios are built to work with the wider widths they'd cause interference and would bleed over into other frequencies," he said. "We simply need to get narrow band compliant radios."

The department has begun the process of researching suppliers of the upgraded equipment, he said.

"We really appreciate the support our local congressional representatives gave us in securing these funds," he said. "Without that, we wouldn't have been able to address the upgrades."

John Merklinger, director of the Emergency Communications Department 911 Center in Monroe County, said the county plans to have its equipment upgraded by the end of 2006 - a move that impacts all fire and police departments across Monroe County.

"We're changing to be compliant with FCC regulations for narrow bandwidth frequencies," he said. "Ultimately, it's a move that benefits the safety of the public at large."