Local Nevada Division of Forestry personnel were successful in getting a rural Volunteer Fire Assistance grant to supply fire communication radios for Humboldt County rural fire departments in McDermitt, Denio and Orovada. The State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources offered the grant funding through NDF to improve communication for rural fire departments which protect communities of less than 10,000 people.
The radios will improve readiness and response to wildfires - especially wild land-urban interface fires.
The grant funding was available for personal protective clothing, fire shelters, or P25-compliant radios, both mobile and hand-held. Messina said McDermitt, Denio and Orovada fire departments determined to prioritize their grant application for radios since the fire departments didn't have any way to communicate with Humboldt County dispatch after the switch was made to digital radios; they were using cell phones.
NDF's Communications Manager Rob Levine has been working with Rick Grantham of Humboldt County Communications and his assistant Tim Henigin to order the radios and get them ready for use by the rural fire departments. Each P-25 compliant Kenwood radio has to be programmed specifically for each department.
Denio and McDermitt volunteer fire departments each received eight mobile radios for vehicles. The Orovada department received seven mobile radios for vehicles and 14 hand-held portable radios. The value of the radios purchased through the grant is $46,800, according to Mesina.[[In-content Ad]]
