owling Green firefighters may have better communication thanks to a new federal grant.
The Bowling Green Fire Department received a $320,175 grant from the 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program on Friday.
The money will help firefighters buy equipment enabling hands-free communication during an emergency, Capt. John Weatherbee said.
“It allows us to purchase some items that probably we wouldn’t be able to afford,” he said.
A communications system would be installed in firetrucks, wh ich provides a headset for firefighters to hear their radio more clearly, Weatherbee said. The headset would also protect firefighters’ hearing.
Firefighters will also receive an updated personal communications system. Before the grant, firefighters had to press a button on their radios to speak to other firefighters, he said.
Voice-activated radios embedded in the firefighters’ air masks will allow simultaneous communication.
The grant will also purchase mobile data computers for fire trucks, which will improve emergency response time, Fire Chief Gerry Brown said.
Information on building floor plans and locations of hazardous materials in the city will be loaded onto the computers to help fire trucks better respond to emergencies, he said.
Global positioning satellite technology will also help direct fire trucks better by calling the fire truck nearest to the emergency, Brown said.
The fire department has received $712,740 from the grant in the past three years, Weatherbee said.
Firefighter Bret Smith and Weatherbee wrote the grant application. Smith said Bowling Green’s fire department is in better financial shape than most departments in the country.
Weatherbee said he’ll continue applying for grants in hopes to purchase thermal imaging cameras for every firefighter in Bowling Green.
“There are still tremendous possibilities out there,” he said.
Reach Bobby Harrell at news@wkuherald.com.
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