The Grants Pass Department of Public Safety has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to upgrade radios for the Fire/Rescue Division. The funding will replace hand-held and mobile radios that are an old mix of manufactures and types. The new radios will be compliant with federal regulations which require public safety agencies to switch to narrow band frequencies by the year 2013. The current radios used by the firefighters are not adaptable to the new standard. Jackson County Fire Agencies as well as the Oregon Department of Forestry in Josephine County have already switched to radios that meet the new standard.
The total cost of the communications grant programs is $123,000.00. The grants will provide $110,700.00 and the Department's matching portion is $12,300.00. This will provide for twenty (20) hand held and seven (7) mobile radios along with a radio repeater that will enhance reception and transmission of emergency radio traffic.
This much needed upgrade will allow firefighter radio transmissions to be clearly heard in all of the city as well as the Urban Growth Area. For years the national fire service has cited poor radio reception as a contributor to numerous fire fatalities and injuries. One feature of the new hand held radios will be a "May Day" button that has a distinctive tone that will notify emergency scene commanders and dispatchers in the event of a firefighter becoming disoriented or trapped. These new radios will meet the needs of the Department as Grants Pass continues to expand its geographical boundaries.
The Aid to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security through FEMA and was created a number of years ago by Congress to fund firefighting equipment, health and safety programs and educational programs in fire departments across the nation.
