There are a few of us on my department who are looking at purchasing 2 way radios for ourselves. The problem we run into is when we get called out for brush fires or when a person is in one of our tankers. We don't have enough portable radios for the other brush truck or the tankers unless we pull them out of another truck. Our chief said that he did not have a problem with us going out and purchasing our own radios. What I am looking for is feed back on some of the different types of hand helds people are using.What all should I look for in a radio before purchasing it? What is a good price to pay for one? Any other useful info would be helpful. I'm new to the radio side of things obviously so I'm sure there is info that I am forgetting to post.

Thanks