Solano County to spend more than $1 million upgrading two-way fire radios
The move will help close communication gaps between rural county fire protection districts and some city firefighting agencies.
(File photo by Matthew Keys / Solano NewsNet)
Officials in Solano County approved an initiative that will allow rural firefighting agencies to upgrade their two-way radios.
The measure will allow rural fire protection agencies to better communicate with those in cities like Vacaville, Fairfield and Dixon when mutual aid is requested, particularly during wildfires and other large incidents.
Last year, three cities in Solano County — Vacaville, Fairfield and Suisun City — switched to a new digital system that uses the 800 Megahertz portion of the radio spectrum.
The system, called the Solano County Regional Communications System (SCRCS), is a significant improvement over the older analog system it replaced: The new system allows police and fire to use a limited number of channels at the same time, while also offering a frictionless way for multiple agencies to talk with one another when they use compatible equipment.
Rural parts of Solano County are served by fire protection districts that are operated and funded by the county itself. Those agencies have access to SCRCS, but have maintained a simulcast on the older, analog system due to equipment problems, including a lack of compatible radios for fire personnel, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Cordelia and portions of rural Dixon, Vacaville, Suisun City, Rio Vista and Vallejo are among the areas covered by fire protection districts in Solano County.
This week, the Solano County Board of Supervisors moved to solve that problem by approving $1.17 million to purchase more radios and other equipment that will help rural firefighters better communicate with their peers at city firefighting agencies during emergencies.
The money will come from a fund of $1.9 million offered by the State of California to Solano County for wildfire prevention efforts.
“Time is of the essence for us,” Bill Emlen, the county administrator, said at a presentation before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “We have a…potentially significant fire season ahead of us.”
Despite several rainstorms over the last few months, forecasters say ongoing drought conditions will increase the potential for dangerous wildfires. Officials with the Northern California Geographic Coordination Center published maps that showed Solano County is at a higher risk for a serious wildfire in the months of May and June, though experts say dangerous wildfires can start at any time, in any place.
It was not clear when the radios will be purchased and put into use.
Upgrading the radios will still not completely close the communications gap among fire agencies in Solano County: Fire personnel in Benicia and Vallejo use a different digital system than the one used in the rest of the county.
That system, known as the East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRCS), allows police and firefighters in Vallejo and Benicia to communicate with other agencies in parts of Contra Costa County and Alameda County, but not in Solano County. Vallejo’s police and fire agencies moved to EBRCS last year.
That problem revealed itself last June when Vallejo firefighters requested assistance from several agencies in north Solano County during a four-alarm grass fire that threatened homes along Skyline Drive. Hours of radio dispatches reviewed by Solano NewsNet showed fire personnel in Vallejo struggled to establish and maintain a single radio channel where they could communicate with outside agencies.
In a staff report published before Tuesday’s meeting, an official with the county’s information technology department said moving Benicia and Vallejo from EBRCS to a system compatible with the rest of the county will require “further analysis and investment.” The official said that matter will be revisited next month.
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