HARMONY — The Harmony Fire District announced Wednesday night that it has received a $10,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The district is part of a countywide mandatory radio upgrade that must be completed by the end of 2018. The project is expected to cost $4 million.

On June 28, Butler County commissioners voted to pay 75 percent of the bill for each agency within the county, leaving the Harmony Fire District and other departments to fund the other 25 percent.

Fire Chief Scott Garing said the switch will provide a significant upgrade in the ability for emergency responders to communicate.

“We’ve had some known issues in the Zelienople area with difficulty communicating,” Garing said. “With a drastic increase in technology and equipment, the biggest tool for us will be the implementation of a new (computer-aided dispatch) CAD system.”

Each CAD system has different features, such as being able to synchronize emergency calls with traffic light signals. But the primary use for the system is to determine which emergency departments to dispatch to the scene.

The total cost for Harmony Fire District’s new radio system will be about $200,000, of which they will need to pay $40,000 after the county’s allocation and the DCNR grant.

“For grant funding, there’s not much out there besides what we just applied for,” Garing said. “The rest will come out of the fire station funds.”

Garing said the fire department has a deep gratitude for both the county commissioners and the DCNR for their contributions to the project.