Since my original post not sure what may have changed in the scanning world but what is the best handheld scanner is not going to break the bank to get that I can pick up the fire department.
Any scanner capable of P25 Phase I 700 MHz will work. Even a 14-year-old BCD396T portable. You might also look at the Radio Shack PRO-106 and PRO-197 models. They are clones of the GRE PSR500 and PSR600 scanners. These are 2008~ vintage and work just fine. They also have RX AGC (for audio) so the crappy dispatcher audio that's set up with linear gain instead of AGC (Bearcom!) doesn't blow your speaker apart.
Before purchasing, just make sure you are within actual listening range of the tower the agency is using. Not all talkgroups are broadcast on all towers -- only when a user on the talkgroup is "affiliated" with the site. For me, the reason I can listen to Mountain View Co. from north of Red Deer is because the dispatcher's radio is sitting on the Red Deer 2 site. Otherwise, I'd be SOL.
Maybe one of the fellas on here lives closer to you and can help you check some things, before you make the investment. You should be fine, but I'd hate to see you waste cash and be disappointed.