Rosalia fire district lands FEMA grant

Whitman County Fire District No. 7, which includes the Rosalia area, received a regional grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The $135,826 grant is for enhancement of radio communication, according to Fire Chief Bill Tensfeld. The grant will allow the district to purchase equipment for a simulcast system.

“Now, the dispatcher must switch between repeaters to see which repeater will allow the best communication with responders,” Tensfeld explained. “This new equipment will tie all the repeaters together and the dispatcher and responder will have one option. The equipment will automatically choose the correct responder. It will be simulcast and we won’t have any more echoes.”

He said the district applied for the grant almost a year ago. He also hopes the new equipment will be operational by the end of the year.

The Whitman County District was one of 26 fire districts throughout the state to receive FEMA grants this year.