Holts Summit firefighters get pagers with grant funds

The Holts Summit Fire Protection District received matching grant funds from the state for the purchase of firefighting equipment.

Holts Summit was one of 182 departments to receive grant funding from the Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S. Forest Service Volunteer Fire Assistance Program.

The district was awarded a total of $3,000. With matching funds it was able to purchase fire pagers for department personnel.

The fire pagers are used to notify fire personnel when service is needed. 911 Dispatch is able to activate the pagers and deliver a voice message to the firefighters regarding the location and nature of the 911 call.

Holts Summit Fire Public Information Officer Scott Pasley said that the grant award came at just the right time as a recent FCC mandate required the department to replace older paging units.

"The FCC recently made changes to the way the radio frequencies used by the fire pagers operate. This change made some of our older pagers unreliable or obsolete. This grant helped offset the cost of purchasing new pagers that meet the new FCC requirements."