David Mach, a volunteer firefighter and the preparer of the grant, stated, “I started working on this grant four years ago with the help of Wildfire Truck and Equipment to put this grant together. It had been so long that we had almost forgotten about it.”  

Garrett VFD Fire Chief Randy Thomas said the department first learned they received the grant in August but will have to wait until May for the truck to arrive.

Justen Diaz, Memphis fire chief, said the departments are jointly applying for a $1.8 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He said the grant would pay for about 350 hand-held 800 megahertz radios.  

Memphis is the lead department in applying for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant.

"Currently, the majority of departments in St. Clair County operate with Motrola XTS radios, and Motorola has discontinued that model," Diaz said. "Fire departments are struggling with getting repairs on them and parts for them."

He said most of the departments purchased hand-held radios using grant funds about 10 years ago, and the radios are coming to the end of their lives.