All the equipment will be purchased using federal grants for homeland security.

The Police Department will be receiving a medium-sized patrol boat from an unspecified vendor, 182 ballistic helmets and detachable face shields from an unspecified vendor, and antennas and other equipment from Northeastern Communications to allow for the operations of Amateur Radio Emergency and Disaster Support within the city's Emergency Operations Center.

The department is authorized to spend no more than $96,500 on the boat, $50,983.66 on the helmets and shields, and $9,076 for the radio equipment.

In a phone interview Sept. 14, Police Chief Harry Rilling explained that the new boat will replace others that have been in service for a long time. The new boat will allow police personnel to go into shallow water areas, including various parts of the harbor they could not reach before.

The helmets also will replace gear that has been used for many years, according to Rilling. The helmets and the shields will protect officers' heads and eyes during storms, in situations with flying or falling objects, or when entering a building that is potentially unsafe, he said. The helmets are made of Kevlar and thus have some ballistic resistance, he said.

The antennas and related equipment will allow for the integration of the amateur radio group's operations. This is particularly important in the event of a power loss in Norwalk, as the amateur radio group provides a backup communication system for police, Rilling said.

The Fire Department will be receiving 13 mobile and 14 portable radios and peripheral equipment from Motorola, Inc. The purchase is not to exceed $62,687.57.

According to Assistant Fire Chief Laurence Reilly, the radios currently used by the department operate in the VHF range, while the radios used by the fire departments in all surrounding towns except New Canaan operate in the UHF range. To communicate with other towns during fire emergencies, the city's department must upgrade to UHF range radios, he said.

The city also will purchase 30 portable radios, at a cost of not more than $76,761.73, to be used in large emergencies. Reilly said he expects the radios to be kept in a command van the city has for emergencies. The radios are to be handed out to people in all agencies responding an emergency to allow communication among them.

In addition, 10 BlackBerry-type wireless devices will be purchased, at a cost not to exceed $16,000, for key members of the city's emergency response staff.