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Fire chiefs ask county for help buying $50 handheld radios; commissioners discuss pilot fund and long-term radio strategy
Summary
Fire chiefs asked Neosho County to help buy inexpensive digital handheld radios to put all rural departments on a common channel; commissioners and public commenters discussed using pilot fund money from wind-farm agreements and the longer-term 800 MHz transition and repeater needs.
Fire chiefs and volunteer fire department leaders asked Neosho County commissioners on March 11 to consider helping buy handheld radios for rural departments to improve countywide fire communications, and the commission discussed funding and longer-term system needs but took no formal vote.
St. Paul Fire Chief Wyatt Westhoff told the commission the departments had located working handheld DMR radios priced at about $50 each. “We did come up with a price of $50 a radio,” Westhoff said, and he said several departments already have units: St. Paul (10), Erie (12) and others were in the process of programming them.
Chiefs said the handhelds would…
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