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Council OKs $221,000 portable radio purchase as fire department recaps large festival response
Summary
Council approved phase‑one replacement of the fire department’s portable radios (43 units) to maintain state‑network interoperability; Fire Chief Charlie King also reported on emergency response to the Rock the Country event, saying crews treated about 300 people onsite and transported five.
Anderson City Council unanimously approved a budgeted, first‑phase purchase of handheld portable radios for the fire department, authorizing procurement of 43 multi‑band portable units and accessories intended to maintain interoperability with the state Palmetto 800 system.
Fire Chief Charlie King told the council the department’s current portable radios, purchased in 2008, have reached the end of their maintenance life and will no longer be supported on the state network beginning in 2027 under current rules; King recommended buying Kenwood radios via a state contract with P25 Solutions at a quoted price of $221,475 and a 90‑day delivery window. Staff said the hardware will be purchased by the city while subscriber and system maintenance continue to be handled by the county through its consolidated dispatch fund (funded by 911 service fees).
After the procurement discussion, King described the department’s response to the recent Rock the Country event at the Anderson Civic Center, reporting an estimated 40,000 attendees over two days, about 300 treated onsite for heat‑related issues and five transported; firefighters used city buses as mobile treatment areas to manage a surge of patients during extreme heat.
A councilmember praised the inclusion of lapel microphones as a protective measure for radios. Council approved the radio purchase without recorded opposition.
The transcript does not show a roll‑call tally; the motion passed with no opposing votes reported.
