FEMA Grants to Provide Fire Departments With New Radio Gear

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(TNS) – The city of New Haven, Connecticut’s three fire departments will get new radio equipment through a federal grant program, replacing outdated equipment, according to a City Council member and former fire chief.

U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, announced the $977,333 in funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters grant program, which will provide mobile, portable, and base radios for the departments.

“With state and local budgets stretched thin, these federal grants help equip our first responders with life-saving training and technologies to keep us safe,” DeLauro said in a statement. “These critical grants will prepare our first responders for the lifesaving work of fighting and preventing fires. This federal funding plays an important role in guaranteeing they have the tools to protect themselves and the health and safety of the public.”

Allingtown District Fire Chief Michael Terenzio said in a statement that the radios are the “only lifeline to communicate with outside resources for assistance” for firefighters entering life-threatening environments and situations.

“Brave men and women who become Firefighters are able to meet the challenges presented by emergencies they are called to mitigate by being properly and appropriately trained and equipped to do so,” Terenzio said in the statement. “The funding we were just awarded will enable us to replace unsupported analogue radio equipment that is experiencing communications gaps during firefighting operations within structures and challenge communications efficacy to outside command staff.”

City Council Chairman Peter Massaro, D-6, a retired Allingtown fire chief, said the current radios were purchased in 2008 and have been obsolete since 2017.

“Now for the safety of the firefighters, a new radio system was needed to prevent loss of radio transmissions and they’re getting all up-to-date equipment, which is great for safety,” he said.

Massaro added that the grant is “a big plus for the taxpayers.”