A $308,000 grant will help Ingomar Volunteer Fire Company in McCandless replace outdated radios throughout the department, ensuring its volunteers have safe and dependable communication in emergencies.
The grant, awarded by the Department of Community of Economic Development, will enable the station along Harmony Drive to purchase new radios so its volunteers can connect to other newly updated radio networks used by other fire companies and first responders in Allegheny County, according to a news release from state Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-McCandless, who helped secure the grant.
“Radios are the lifeline of firefighters when they go into any dangerous situation,” said Ingomar Deputy Chief Jim Vicheck, who manages the radio system for the department. “It’s a huge help anytime a volunteer fire department can get funds for certain things.”
Fellow Ingomar firefighter John Doane worked with Venkat’s office to acquire the funding, Vicheck said.
Ingomar’s radios are outdated with some frequencies not working properly. With Ingomar in the beginning of the award process, the updates will take some time, likely several years, Vicheck said.
Allegheny County Emergency Services is in its fourth year of an eight-year program to implement a countywide update to its radio systems, and is committed to helping partner agencies — such as local police, fire and emergency medical services — with these modifications, according to Allegheny County Chief Fire Marshal Matthew Brown.
While Allegheny County has countywide ownership of the emergency services system, individual agencies may have their own handheld, mobile and portable radios.
Allegheny County used American Relief Program funding three years ago to purchase radios for local volunteer fire departments, Brown said. The county is asking partner agencies to maintain their current systems, and in the event they have to purchase systems to send quotes to the county to ensure all required specifications are being met.
As part of the program, the county negotiated with Motorola to get discounted radios to their partner agencies, Brown said.
Allegheny County emergency service operations are on a P25 digital trunking UHF band, according to the county website.
Highland Volunteer Fire Department also secured a grant last year and has updated its radio system. With Venkat’s help, the station was able to secure about $250,000 to complete the project, said Ken Kinzel, Highland’s fire chief.
“We’re currently up to date with the county,” Kinzel said.
The radios currently used by the Ingomar company were purchased about 15 years ago, with some of the programming now obsolete, Vicheck said.
The funding for the project resulted from legislative advocacy by Venkat, along with the leadership of the State House, according to pahouse.com.
“As an ER doc, I regularly see the heroism of our local firefighters,” Venkat said. “As a legislator, supporting our first responders is among my top priorities. I am very happy to see this funding come to our community for a project that will make all of McCandless and our region safer.”
Other recent grant announcements include a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Green Light-Go grant of $443,000 to upgrade adaptive signal systems in McCandless, thanks to efforts from Venkat and Sen. Lindsey Williams, according to the Jan. 12 McCandless Council meeting.
The funding will upgrade the adaptive signal system at the intersections of Perry Highway (Route 19) with North Meadow Drive/Wexford Plaza, Richard Road/Reichold Road and North Allegheny High School’s driveway, according to the December 2025 Green Light-Go award listing at pa.gov.