In response to the devastating fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, Tait Communications has donated critical communications equipment to the West Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services. The equipment will replace the radios lost in the disaster and support ongoing relief efforts in the West community.
The USD$35,000 donation includes Tait mobile and portable radios, batteries, chargers, antennas, belt clips, speaker microphones and programming kits. The contribution also includes programming services, training and on-going support.
“West is part of our Texas community and the community of public safety professionals we serve. We visited West to honor those who died, offer our prayers for their families and do what communities do for each other – give in a time of need,” says Brian Kirkham, Vice-President of Marketing, Tait Communications.
Steve Vanek, West’s Mayor Pro Tem and volunteer firefighter thanks the Tait team for the equipment delivery, “Radios are critical, a lifeline in any emergency. We can’t thank you enough. This means so much to our guys and the City of West.”
Tom Marek, West Emergency Medical Services Supervisor, says, “We are very grateful to have the Tait team come up here from Houston today. Even more, the radios are significantly better than what we had before.”
Nick Copeland, Texas A&M Forest Service, who helped coordinate the donation with Tait, says: “Those who expressed interest in donating equipment were told of the need for any radio equipment that worked, hand-me-downs or even radios that were out of service. Word got to Tait fast, not only did they deliver working radios but the equipment is brand new.”
While Tait received many requests from its employees to support their Texas community, it was Blake Bowers, Fire Chief of the Lanton Fire Department in Missouri that reached out to see what the company could do, “We are working with Tait to implement a system here in Howell County and I know first-hand that Tait empathizes with our industry. I knew the company would be willing to help West as they recover from the horrific explosion.”
