[ScanIndiana] Brown Cty FD to get new radios

[Matthew C. Payne]

Got this out of the Brown County Democrat.  Might be of interest to folks
living in the south central part of Indiana.  Also might make a good
addition to the IndyScan newsletter.

Hope everyone is staying warm.

Matt



Fire department gets grant for radio equipment

By Judy Shipley Staff writer
JShipley@bcdemocrat.com


Hoping to eliminate unwanted radio chatter and dead air space, the Brown
County (Nashville) Volunteer Fire Department will spend about $90,000 on
communications equipment.

�The equipment will hopefully give the entire county 100 percent coverage
on fire frequencies,� said the assistant fire chief, Dak Kelp.

The department is one of about 7,000 fire departments from a pool of
nearly 20,000 applicants that will receive federal funds this year,
according to U.S. Congressman Baron Hill.

�The Brown County Volunteer Fire Department has made a real commitment to
serve and protect its community,� said Representative Hill. �I am pleased
the federal government has recognized their need for assistance and the
good work they do for the people they serve.�

The money will be used to purchase repeaters, pagers, a thermal imaging
device and mobile radios for fire trucks, as well as other items.

One repeater will replace the county�s only repeater in the Brown County
State Park. The remaining repeaters will be placed in northern Brown
County, according to Fire Chief Steve Gore.

�This will help all the fire departments,� Mr. Gore said.

The money also will be used to purchase a new fire frequency for fire
ground operations.

�It will be a short range frequency that we can switch to when we get on
the fire scene,� Mr. Gore said.

�Currently we use state mutual aid and sometimes if you�re up high, like
up on Freeman Ridge, you get interference from other departments because
everyone from the state�s on it,� Mr. Gore said.

Also a radio console will be purchased for the E-911 dispatch center at
the Brown County Sheriff�s Department.

According to Mr. Kelp, the console will display firefighter identification
numbers. This will enable firefighters to push an emergency call button on
their radio, sending an alarm to dispatch, signaling help is needed.

�That provides an additional level of safety and hopefully clean up some
of the unwanted radio traffic,� Mr. Kelp said. �Anytime anybody keys up a
radio it�s going to show on a screen who�s radio that is.�

Mr. Gore said he was �real pleased� to get the grant, explaining this is
the first Assistance to Firefighters grant the department has received
after being turned down �a couple of times.�

�I want to thank Baron Hill for his help,� Mr. Gore said. �He�s been very
helpful.�

The Brown County (Nashville) Volunteer Fire Department provides fire
protection for Washington Township and Nashville. The area is about 105
square miles of mostly rural and rugged terrain.

In 2002, the department responded to approximately 384 runs using a
volunteer force of 20 fire and EMS personnel.

The fire department is funded primarily by government contracts through
the Washington Township trustee and Nashville.

The money will be used to purchase:

� Pagers � 20

� Base stations � 4

� Portable radios � 20

� Mobile repeaters � 5

� Repeaters � 3

� Thermal imaging device � 1

� Mobile radios � 5

� Additional tactical frequency � 1

Assistance to Firefighters grants are awarded on a 90/10 federal/local
matching basis. Applicants are required to match the total project cost
with a 10 percent cash contribution payable over the duration of the grant
project.

The matching money can come from fundraisers, donations and fire runs.

According to the United States Fire Administration, Brown County
(Nashville) Volunteer Fire Department received $96,013 on January 9;
Fruitdale Volunteer Fire Department received $160,225 on October 24, 2003
and Cordry Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department received $99,342 on
November 21, 2003.

Fruitdale and Cordry fire department chiefs were unavailable for comment
by the newspapers deadline.

The grant program is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland
Security.