BANDON — Bandon’s volunteer firefighters soon should have new radios in hand when responding to house and wildfires.

The Bandon Rural Fire District has won a $17,360 rural fire assistance program grant to help replace or upgrade its portable radios. Bandon Fire must pay 10 percent in matching funds. The grant is funded through the U.S. Department of the Interior.

“These grants help us update our equipment with little direct cost to local taxpayers,” said Fire Chief Lanny Boston.

The goal is to increase firefighter safety, improve the firefighting capabilities of rural volunteer fire department, and enhance protection in the urban-wildland interface.

The program is primarily for rural departments serving populations under 10,000 that routinely help fight fire on or near Department of the Interior lands (BLM, USFWS, national parks, tribal lands).

For Bandon, the money will translate into 15 new portable radios or upgrades to existing equipment. The district has about three dozen portable radios now. One is assigned to each firefighter and officer, with the others kept in reserve at outlying fire stations and in various firefighting apparatus.

Boston said the grant will allow the district to continue to maintain some radios in reserve. It also will help the department comply with new technology requirements, allowing both analog and digital transmitting and receiving.

“We want to thank our friends at U.S. Fish and Wildlife who run the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge,” he said. “They were instrumental in getting us to apply for that grant this year.”