The town of Rockingham in eastern Vermont includes the villages of Bellows Falls and Saxtons River, little but lively hubs of activity lending their special brand of hardboiled New England character to the rich cultural history of the Connecticut River. Though separated by only 10 minutes of drive time, the three municipalities each feature a fire station, ensuring multi-area coverage for roughly 4,700 combined rural residents. “The issue is not a lack of fire departments; we have those,” says Bellows Falls Fire Chief Shaun McGinnis. “What we don’t have is timely coordination between them. Each department does things differently, so collaboration has been difficult.”

Cooperating to Create SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION

Certain challenges prevent the departments from working in unison: most firefighters are volunteers with irregular schedules, and each of the river communities sit in a valley surrounded by foothills. The result is that on-time availability and real-time communication are hard to maintain, depending on the time of day and the fire locations. Acknowledging the obstacles, Chief McGinnis worked with Gary Fox, town of Rockingham Development Director, to find a path forward. Together they concluded that funding for two items was needed: new communications equipment, and a study to determine if it made sense to combine three firefighting facilities into one—and if so, how to do it.

Smart Investing to SAVE LIVES BY SAVING TIME

Having seen the past impacts of USDA investments in community and business projects, McGinnis and Fox were familiar with the power of federal funding. To perform a consolidation feasibility study, they applied for and were awarded a $15,000 Rural Business Development Grant for consultant contracting. And with an application to the USDA Community Facilities Loan & Grant Program, Bellows Falls FD replaced old equipment by purchasing 16 new two-way radios, two antennas and a repeater. The repeater sits atop a nearby hill to transmit clear messages far and wide, giving first responders and rural residents the confidence of reliable emergency communication.