Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fire chiefs ask Fayette County for gear, vehicles and countywide radio upgrades
Summary
Multiple fire chiefs told commissioners their levy budgets include capital needs — bunker gear, UTVs, trucks, hose replacement and replacement mobile radios estimated at about $3,000 each — and urged county help with group purchases and grant pursuit.
Fire chiefs from across Fayette County presented levy budgets and capital requests, asking the commission to consider countywide strategies for equipment replacement and radio upgrades.
Chiefs described capital needs including replacement sets of bunker gear (several departments requested multiple sets), skid steers, utility trucks and UTVs. Several chiefs said some hose and airbags in service are older than recommended replacement intervals and recommended staged replacement across departments.
A recurring theme was communications equipment: chiefs said many handheld radios have been replaced but mobile (truck) radios are aging or lack parts. Multiple speakers estimated the cost of a vehicle-mounted radio at roughly $3,000. Fire leaders and staff urged the county to seek group bids, use grant funding and coordinate purchases to reduce costs and ensure compatible equipment.
Commissioners and staff discussed countywide radio grant efforts and a countywide radio project being pursued by staff to relieve individual departments’ capital burdens; no final appropriation was made on March 4. Fire chiefs also updated the commission on Station 18 and the training center, reporting design work and near-term bid timing for phase 1 site work and shell construction.
Commissioners thanked the chiefs for their service and asked staff to compile detailed, countywide cost estimates for radios and other capital items for upcoming budget deliberations.
