By Thomas Ott
Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Copyright 2007 Plain Dealer Publishing Co.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Six East Side suburbs have received nearly $1 million in federal money to make Cuyahoga County's fragmented emergency radio network a little more coherent.

The money will buy standard radio equipment for firefighters in Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, University Heights, South Euclid, Lyndhurst and Mayfield Heights.

That will improve communication, and could clear the way for the six cities to share fire dispatchers, Cleveland Heights Fire Chief Kevin Mohr said. Cleveland Heights shares fire dispatchers with Shaker Heights and University Heights.

The $992,000 grant was one of the largest given to firefighters by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. For the cities to get the grant, the county must contribute about $260,000.

Fire departments in four western suburbs - Bay Village, Westlake, Rocky River and Fairview Park - combined dispatching last year.

But the region's firefighters and police continue to talk on dozens of systems that are hard to link.

Cities in Cuyahoga County have discussed building a countywide system that could cost as much as $115 million.

A leader of the effort, Parma Heights Fire Chief Bryan Sloan, said the eastern suburbs' new equipment could fit into the county network.

The six cities plan to buy more than 200 modern, 800-megahertz radios, replacing three older types.

Lyndhurst Mayor Joseph Cicero said he supports combined dispatching. Mayfield Heights has not decided if it will go that far, Fire Chief Michael Forte said.

"We really haven't made a determination one way or the other, but we expect to do that soon."