An upgrade to rural fire departments across Craighead County is going to help them better protect you in an emergency.
The upgrades were made possible by the Southridge Fire Department, which applied for and received a FEMA grant for $900,000 to join the Arkansas Wireless Information Network radio system.
It’s a move officials said was very needed.
“We have been picking up sound from Memphis and it was clogging up the radio channel,” said Lieutenant Keith Beeson. “We get a lot of static it was kind of a job to be able to communicate with other responders.”
The new system will allow one department to contact another just with the flick of a switch and join any talk room around the county.
Anthony Coy, Director of Emergency Management for Craighead County said the system could be lifesaving in some cases.