A few passing clouds. Low 63F. Winds light and variable..

A few passing clouds. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.

Terre Haute Firefighters and Police Department are slated to get new vehicle and portable radios, the first in more than a decade.

The Terre Haute Board of Public Works and Safety on Monday gave approval for the departments to seek financing for the more than $2.7 million purchase.

"We have been overdue for portable radios and on-board radios for the last six years. We have had issues. The radios are out-of-date, they cannot be serviced, and we are piecing radios together," said Fire Chief Bill Berry.

"It is a major safety issue for us," Berry said.

The new Motorola radios will cost more than $1.1 million for the fire department and more than $1.6 million for the police department.

Scott Dalton, a battalion chief for the fire department, said some other agencies, such as Sugar Creek Fire Department, also obtained some radios, which decreased overall costs.

"We were able to leverage buying power to increase the discount on the quantity purchase," Dalton said.

The THPD started to look at replacing radios last year, said Lt. Steve Lockard.

"We were researching a needs list," Lockard said. "The fire department was experiencing more failures than we were ... and the fire department has more intensive needs for radios to withstand water and fire.

The departments agreed to go with the same radios systems, Lockard said. "It also allowed better pricing" to combine both departments, he said.

"We are reaching the end of life on our radios," Lockard said. "This is long overdue."

The new radios will have better technology to allow communication inside a building or in a concrete structure.

"There is a cellular backup feature and the radios are capable from switching from whatever radio frequency that's being used to a cellular backup and also to a WiFi backup network," Lockard said. "For example, the school corporation has a centralized WiFi system ... and can enter the password for that, if you are in a building that loses the radio signal, it can switch automatically to the WiFi signal so it can transmit and receive," he said.

"Historically, you get into concrete and steel buildings and reception and transmission has always been a problem and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has always been a (difficult) radio spot, so hopefully this will carry us over that hump," Lockard said.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on Twitter@TribStarHoward.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.