Grant for new fire department radios doubled

Your Houston News

HOUSTON, Texas — Liberty County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Branch spoke to the county commissioners Tuesday morning, Jan. 14, to secure their acceptance of a $176,488 grant from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC) to purchase radio equipment for his office, emergency medical services, and fire departments across Liberty County.

Mike Koen of Liberty County EMS initiated the process to obtain the funds because there are areas in the county where ambulance drivers are virtually cut off from all communication. Out of radio range using their current equipment and with spotty cell phone reception, Koen said there are “some areas in the north of the county where they can’t communicate with the sheriff’s office.”

The new digital 700/800 megahertz radios will remedy that problem by their much greater signal strength and range. The original funding request was for just over $88,000, but after SETRAC’s Community Coalition Committee reviewed the application, they not only approved it but offered to double the funding to $176,488, if the parties on the receiving end will accept the funds.

Full story: Grant for new EMS and fire dept. radios is surprisingly doubled