McCandless Fire Departments Awarded $246,600 for New Communications Equipment

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded $246,600 to four McCandless area volunteer fire departments in the name of a country-wide Assistance to Firefighters Grant.

Highland Volunteer Fire Department, Ingomar Fire Department, Peebles Volunteer Fire Department and Ohio Township fire department will share the grant, which will provide new communication equipment including new pagers, base, mobile and portable radios.

Highland Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief Shawn O’Brien co-authored the grant application alongside Highland Volunteer Firefighter Steve Wehrspann.

“The officers and members of the volunteer fire departments from the Town of McCandless and Ohio Township are extremely pleased with the announcement of this grant award,” said O’Brien. “Utilizing these modern radios will enable us to respond more promptly, safely and effectively to protect lives and property of the communities we serve.”

McCandless Fire Marshal Dan Stack also played a key role in the final application process as well. U.S. Senator Pat Toomey wrote a letter of support on behalf of the grant application with the help of Pennsylvania Representative Mike Turzai.

The current equipment is obsolete, according to Stack. In 2011 a request for federal funding from the AFG was not awarded. With the grant award this year, the four fire departments will be able to more adequately protect more than 33,000 private residents over a 23.5 square mile area, and over 1,200 commercial businesses in the area.

“We use this equipment on every call so it has to be reliable and state of the art. It is our lifeline when we are in a burning building and need to be able to talk to those on the outside,” said Wehrspann.

The equipment includes pagers that initially alert firefighters of a call, personal portable radios that only line officers carry with them to and from the station, portable radios on the apparatus and mobile equipment wired into each vehicle.

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