City receives grant money for emergency operations equipment

The city of Cape Girardeau has been awarded a Homeland Security grant of $184,880 to buy equipment that will enable the city's emergency operations to plan for the threat of natural disaster or potential terrorism.

According to Mark Hasheider, assistant fire chief and emergency operations coordinator, the grant will buy equipment that will enhance safety in the areas of prevention, response and communications.

Money is there -- $105,785 -- for communication equipment, including handheld portable radios for law enforcement officers and firefighters, a base radio for the city's emergency communications center, and mobile radios for fire trucks.

Hasheider said that $40,840 is earmarked for physical security enhancement equipment, which will be used to protect the city's water supply.

The grant also includes $10,810 for equipment to detect the most common hazardous materials or substances, such as natural gas leaks. There is also $18,600 for search equipment, including a thermal imaging camera, which the police department will use. The fire department has a thermal imaging camera, Hasheider said. The one provided for in the grant is designed for police use.

The grant also includes $2,195 for crisis management software to track all functions, tasks and personnel at emergency incidents and $6,650 for training and development of a table-top exercise to evaluate the city's newly revised emergency operation plan.

None of the new equipment is included among the items the fire department intended to buy with the sales tax money that is expected to begin coming in after Jan. 1.

Some of the equipment is expected to arrive within the next 60 to 90 days.