Medford Fire Department Upgrading Communication With State Grant

MEDFORD, MA — The city has secured a Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant of $35,000 from the state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced Wednesday. The funding will be used to buy six new radios for the Medford Fire Department.

The upgraded radios are expected to improve communication and efficiency. The radios will be interoperable with the Medford Police Department and other regional mutual aid partners, giving firefighters a communications system that can connect multiple response agencies during emergencies.

The city said radios are the primary platform for resource coordination, dispatch communications and Emergency Operations Center connectivity during both routine calls and large-scale incidents. The six radios will be deployed on five frontline fire apparatus and one command vehicle.

“Equipping our first responders with reliable tools is essential for keeping our community safe and secure during emergency situations” Lungo-Koehn said. “Thank you to Chief Todd Evans for his work to secure this funding and his leadership of our Fire Department.”

Evans said some department vehicles are still using radios that are more than 20 years old. “Several of our trucks are equipped with radios that are over 20 years old, exceeding their service life, and becoming incompatible with technology used by our partners,” said Fire Chief Todd Evans. “This grant funding will help us close a communications gap and improve our overall department efficiency.”

The Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant program reimburses departments for purchases of nearly 100 different types of equipment. Fire departments across Massachusetts were eligible to apply.

$5 million in funds was allocated across more than 300 departments throughout the state.

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