By Dan Sokil
The Reporter
NORTH WALES, Pa. — A grant application from VMSC-EMS for a major radio upgrade has gotten a boost from council.
“The radios that we currently have are pushing 10 to 12 years old, and are well out of life and unserviceable. Radios are very expensive, and not something that we’re able to easily replace,” said VMSC Deputy Chief Bryson Schroeder.
| READ NEXT: Congratulations, you won a grant! Now try not to give it back.
“And so this grant is a great opportunity for us to be able to do that,” he said.
VMSC is based on the campus of Lansdale Hospital in Hatfield and operates several ambulance dispatch substations throughout the region. In recent years VMSC has partnered with similar ambulance corps and companies in the greater region, shifting from an all-volunteer to a paid paramedic model, and asked local municipalities for regular funding to support their operations. In March 2025 borough officials thanked VMSC publicly for their support of area residents by presenting their annual financial contribution, then passed a tax increase in December 2025 that created dedicated tax revenue for the ambulance corps, and honored that group again in May 2026 to coincide with national Emergency Medical Services Week.
During the Oct. 27 council meeting, Schroeder and borough manager Christine Hart outlined the latest joint effort: a grant application seeking just over $401,000 from the state’s Local Share Account grant program for new digital radios.
“This would allow us to provide a radio for every crew member of every ambulance that supports this community here,” said Schroeder.
“We feel strongly that every crew member should have a radio, from a safety perspective, and right now due to some of our growth, we don’t actually have enough radios for every crew member to have one. So this would support that,” he said.
Hart said in recent talks between borough staff and VMSC, both have agreed that VMSC will prepare the grant application and the borough would act as a pass-through and the formal municipality that backs the request.
“As you know, there’s multiple municipalities within their coverage area. Everyone tries to help as we can,” Hart said.
Filing the grant application will carry a $100 fee which council would need to vote to waive, but the application would require no match and carry no further cost to the borough.
“I think it’s a good way to show our support for VMSC, and it’s something that we will all benefit from, within all of the North Penn communities,” she said.
Mayor Neil McDevitt said he had seen talks by Montgomery County officials about a countywide radio upgrade, and asked if the new VMSC radios would be able to communicate with county counterparts; Schroeder said they would.
“The current radios that we have are on that system, as well as these new ones,” he said. “The nice thing is that Delaware, Bucks, and all the surrounding counties all now also have that system. So if ever there was a situation where units were crossing boundaries for a large event, we’re all connected.”
North Wales borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 at the borough municipal building, 300 School Street; for more information, visit www.NorthWalesBorough.org.
© 2026 The Reporter.
Visit www.thereporteronline.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.