Bucksport awarded federal grants Homeland Security gives town $100,000

BUCKSPORT – The town’s police and fire departments have been awarded two federal Homeland Security grants totaling more than $100,000.

The Police Department will receive $70,500 to improve its communications system and the Fire Department will get $37,680 to purchase safety equipment.

The Police Department grant is less than the $167,000 it had requested for the system upgrade, and, according to Byron Vinton, the department’s dispatch supervisor, officials still are evaluating how best to use the lower amount to improve the system.

The existing communications equipment more than 25 years old and is reaching the end of its useful life, Vinton said Monday.

The department had hoped to use the grant funds to convert the entire radio system – which covers the town’s Police, Fire, Ambulance, Highway and Wastewater Treatment departments, as well as the Orland Fire Department – to narrow band frequencies. The narrow band frequencies are more versatile and would provide better communication capabilities between local units as well as the ability to communicate with neighboring agencies during larger emergencies, Vinton said.

The Federal Communications Commission will require all public safety radio systems to convert to narrow band systems by 2013. But the grant funds won’t cover that conversion, Vinton said.

As an alternative, the department may seek FCC approval for new wide band frequencies and then purchase new equipment for that system. The newer radios could later be converted to the narrow band system.

“It all depends on the FCC. If we get the wide band, we think we can do everything we wanted to do for a minimal amount of town money beyond the grant,” Vinton said.

Vinton said he is waiting for written notification of the grant award before he seeks town approval to begin the FCC application process. If all goes well, the new system could be in operation by the end of next year.

The Fire Department grant will fund the purchase of a thermal imaging camera and computerized fit-test equipment that will ensure proper fits on safety breathing gear. The grant also will purchase laptop computers that will include hazardous material and preplanning software, according to Fire Chief Craig Bowden.

“We’ve done a fair amount of pre-planning on different buildings and what’s in them, but it’s all on paper,” Bowden said. “Now, it will be computerized. We’ll have a floor plan and we’ll know where everything is.”

The laptops are similar to those used by the Police Department and are designed to be used outdoors.

“They can get dropped and get wet and still work, so we can take them right to the scene,” he said.

The laptops also will include information from neighboring Hancock County towns that work together in a district. Those towns include Orland, Verona, Penobscot and Castine.

In addition, the Fire Department also has received a Homeland Security Fire Act grant of $30,400 that will be used to purchase rescue equipment.

Meanwhile, the department was putting the final touches on its design for a new fast minipumper that also is being purchased with Homeland Security funds. Earlier this year, the town received a $112,500 grant to purchase the pumper.

The town also has used Homeland Security grant funds to upgrade security at the public safety building. In all the public safety departments have received close to $300,000 in Homeland Security grant funds this year alone.