Wayland Fire Department Receives Grant for New Radios

The has received a grant to purchase 16 portable radios for the department’s full-time firefighters.

According to a press release from Wayland FD, funds for the grant are provided by the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (A.F.G.). The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administer the grant.

Wayland Fire Chief Robert Loomer said he was “very pleased” to have been selected to receive the money.

Loomer explained that the grant is funded to a certain amount – in Wayland’s case, $55,860 – and that amount is an estimate of what it will cost to complete a specific project. Wayland will not receive the difference if the project comes in under the allowable amount.

In April 2010, Loomer “did his homework” researching the costs associated with purchasing 16 new radios and the associated equipment. He then submitted his grant request, as he’s done each of the eight years he’s been with Wayland Fire Department.

Loomer said Wayland was in competition with about 19,000 other fire departments throughout the country for a portion of this grant funding.

“Our current radios are about 14-15 years old,” Loomer said, adding that the radios were scheduled to be a capital request in the town’s budget in 2014. “That’s a pretty critical piece of equipment that is going to save somebody’s life, and it’s aging infrastructure.

“The need is now,” he said. “The best I can hope for is get the firefighters the safer equipment sooner and be able to go back to the taxpayers I serve and tell them I’m not going to be in your pocket for $60-$65,000 a couple of years from now.”

The grant is structured as a 95 percent to 5 percent split, meaning the grant funds 95 percent of the cost of the approved project and the local government is responsible for matching the other 5 percent.

Of the eight grant submissions Loomer said he’s submitted, “we’ve had three hits and five strikes.” One of those “hits” came in 2004 in the form of $100,000 used to purchase new breathing apparatuses for the department.

“I always look to try and find whatever funds we can both to make the guys safer and also to try and ease the tax burden,” Loomer said.

While the department’s current radios are functional, the newer versions are “far superior,” Loomer said. For one thing, newer radios feature interoperability, which means they can be used to communicate on multiple frequencies and with numerous departments. That feature, Loomer explained, is critical if Wayland firefighters are assisting in another town or working with multiple groups.

In addition, the new radios are able to sustain more wear and tear and are water-resistant to a depth of 20 feet for 20 minutes, which could be important in the case of a water rescue.

The old radios will be maintained at the fire department for auxiliary firefighters or as a back-up system, Loomer said. He hopes to purchase the new radios within the next few weeks and to have them operational within the next few months.