Thanks to grant funding, the Collinsville Fire Department was recently able to buy new digital communication radios for Collinsville Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) volunteers.

Fire Chief John Bailot said the new radios are a much-needed tool for CEMA volunteers in emergency situations. Volunteers help police and fire during a variety of emergencies, such as structure fires or natural disasters.

Collinsville is one of several area fire departments that benefitted from the grants from the Edwardsville Community Foundation (ECF). The ECF received a generous influx of donations after two tornadoes killed six people in December 2021 in Edwardsville. The foundation awarded nearly $1.7 million in relief grants to individuals, businesses and municipalities in Madison County.

$498,867 in grants went to local police and fire departments for digital communication radios.

Chief Bailot said he is very appreciative of the grant and the opportunity it provides.

“We can’t stop the tornadoes, but we can prepare for them,” Bailot said.

Bailot said the new radios are a huge improvement from the older radio technology volunteers had up until now.

“They could not talk to the fire department or police, and only two radios could even reach dispatch. That was a big issue,” Bailot said.

The department received nine radios through the grant funding for CEMA volunteers. Bailot said the radios will help Collinsville achieve a better level of interoperability, which allows agencies to communicate with each other.

“Everything we do is a direct benefit to the community and the more tools we have to help our citizens, the better,” Bailot said. “Let’s knock on wood, but if a tornado came through Collinsville, I would be calling those volunteers out to help us and they would help do window surveys where they go around different communities and assess the damage and bring that information back to us so we can get resources to those areas quicker.”