Homeland Security Awards Encinitas Fire Dept. $126K Grant

Last Friday, Jan. 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded the Encinitas Fire Department a $126,709 grant that will be used to upgrade communications equipment.

The money will be used to buy 44 portable, mobile, and base station radios, which will help the department meet the standards of Project 25, an effort to improve communication technology for public safety first-responders.

According to a news release from the Encinitas Fire Department, radios are especially critical for firefighters because they help them communicate with emergency medical services, law enforcement, and other fire and public service agencies. 

The grant money was awarded via the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, a highly competitive national program. In fact, only 25 percent of the grant applications get funding every year — and in this case, that application was written and submitted by Encinitas Fire Department program assistant Kim McDermott.

San Diego and Imperial counties plan to replace the current Regional Communications System (RCS) with a new Project 25 (P 25) network by 2013. New XTS 5000 radios will replace the XTS 3000 radios currently used by some personnel and will allow Encinitas firefighters to communicate on both the existing RCS and P25 networks.