MANATEE -- Fire departments in Manatee County were awarded a $799,885 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, West Manatee Fire Rescue announced.

The grant, called the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program award, will be used to help the departments replace nearly 286 portable and mobile radios.

The total cost of the new radios will be $999,856.

“These old radios are starting to degrade the signals and the digital radio system,” said Brett Pollock, deputy chief of West Manatee Fire Rescue. “This is a significant amount of radios that are going to help out all the departments.”