Ind. fire department uses grant to buy new radios

By Benjamin Lanka
The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Fire Department will use a grant to upgrade all of its radios in anticipation of a complete overhaul of the local public safety radio system.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously supported an ordinance to allow the department to buy 200 new radios and upgrade 65 others as part of a $1.4 million regional Assistance to Firefighters Grant.

The grant will also provide money for new radios for fire departments across the county.

Fire Chief Pete Kelly said the department will eventually need to replace or upgrade all of its hand-held radios as the city and Allen County prepare to build a completely new radio system.

Such an overhaul will likely cost more than $10 million.

The current 800-megahertz system functions properly but is nearing theof its life cycle and will soon no longer be serviceable. It was bought and installed in 2000.

This means if parts fail, the city won't be able to replace or repair them for police officers and firefighters.

To combat the coming obsolescence, the city and county have decided to upgrade to a P-25 800-megahertz system that is the national standard.

Unlike the current system, the new system provides compatibility across manufacturers, allowing the city to buy radios or equipment from different vendors.

Kelly said the opportunity arose to apply for a grant to purchase new radios, which would save the city the bulk of the cost to purchase them.

"We're going to have to do it eventually anyhow," he said. "It's a great savings for us."

The grant requires the city provide a $252,000 match. The radios are likely to be delivered in the next few months and the upgraded radios will be compatible with the current system.

A request for proposals for the new system is likely to be sent to vendors over the next several months, although city and county officials have not yet determined where the 911 call center will be located.

The current 911 center is in the basement of the City-County Building, but there are some concerns about available expansion space for the new system.

Kelly said he personally prefers moving the system to the eighth floor of that building - which is being remodeled into a public safety headquarters - but the basement might still work.

Once purchased, a new system would take up to 18 months to install.

The council must give its formal approval to the grant next week, but members rarely change their votes between meetings.

Copyright 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning
All Rights Reserved
ProQuest SuperText
Copyright 2011 The Journal-Gazette