Fire and EMS officials outline grants and press board for half-match on $234,799 radio upgrade project

Dan Early, speaking for Cumberland County’s fire and EMS departments, outlined a string of recent grants and a larger radio project that he said will ‘‘make contact with the tower’’ where current portable radios fail. Early said agencies had won assorted small grants — including $1,000 from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for radio-related equipment, $3,000 awards from the Virginia State Firefighters Association for ladders and tools, a $4,000 donation from Colonial Pipeline intended as part of a boat purchase, and about $10,000 in American Heart Association–sourced funds for CPR/AED equipment.

Early said the department still lacks radios and vehicle repeaters to ensure reliable in-county communications. He said the radio project covers 51 portable radios and 27 vehicle repeaters identified as needed; the grant covers roughly half of the reported total project cost, which he gave as $234,799.52, leaving an equal county contribution. "We've got to have it," Early said of vehicle repeaters, adding that in multi‑story buildings or basements the current 5‑watt portables often cannot reach towers without a repeater boost.

Early described the distribution plan: each fire station would have more repeaters (he said stations typically have six vehicles and would get four repeaters each, up from two), and ambulances are covered. He said the award added 13 portable radios from a grant and six additional vehicle repeaters, bringing the county closer to the stated need but still short of the full equipment list. Early noted per‑unit costs reported in the presentation: about $12,000 per portable radio and about $13,400 per vehicle repeater.

Board members asked how repeaters would be distributed and whether the county paging system was reliable. Early answered that the paging system was running on older equipment and "not guaranteed to keep working the way it is," and that staff are pursuing a more dependable solution. He also noted training events and volunteer recruitment efforts tied to the equipment upgrades.

The presentation listed small, targeted grants — for example, pallets of bottled water and rehabilitation supplies and funds for ladder replacement — and a $4,000 corporate donation being held toward a future water‑rescue boat purchase. Early said those grants help offset equipment costs but stressed the larger radio/vehicle repeater project still requires county matching funds.

The board did not take a formal vote on the radio project during the presentation; Early closed by inviting questions from members.