News

Rio Grande Valley Responders Receive Grant to Enhance Radio Communication

Jared Janes

06/03/2013

June 03--When Alton firefighters respond to an emergency with their neighboring departments, it helps if they're all on the same frequency.

The Alton Fire Department will use a federal grant to completely replace its old radio system as it moves to the Rio Grande Valley's expanding digital communications network. Alton fire Chief Jerry Alaniz said the grant will provide his department the capability to immediately communicate with neighboring departments as soon as they arrive.

"When we have a large wildfire or event with a regional response, it enables everyone to be on the same page," said Alaniz, whose department will receive about 30 radios through the grant, enough to completely cover its 25-man department. "We can all go to one regional channel and work off that."

Seventeen fire departments from across the Valley will receive new regional radio equipment through the grant, a $2.7 million award through the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters program. The McAllen Fire Department was the parent agency for the Valley's grant, which was the largest of its kind awarded nationwide, but equipment will be distributed throughout Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties.

Area departments will purchase roughly 240 portable radios and 130 mobile radios with the grant, part of a continuing effort to build out regional response communications. The regional radio system is being developed through the Rio Grande Valley Communications Group, an entity formed in 2011 to develop infrastructure that allows first responders to communicate with each other following natural disasters or everyday responses.

In addition to fire departments from across the Valley, the communications group includes local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, the Valley's hospitals and ambulance services, and public works departments from cities.

Pilar Rodriguez, the group's chairman, said the goal is to create a seamless network of communication for all agencies. Although the $2.7 million federal grant announced in May was its largest award to date, the group has been building the components for the system since 2005.

To date, it has invested about $7.5 million into the infrastructure. Although the group needs to build about four more tower sites -- to complement 10 already in place -- most of the remaining costs will go toward purchasing radios.

Rodriguez said the grant's intent was to help smaller agencies join the system since the cost could be prohibitive without federal aid.

"The intent was to help some of the smaller agencies out, so McAllen did all of the grant work," Rodriguez said. "It's one of McAllen's efforts to regionalize things."

The regional radio system will provide first responders better coverage under the aging analog networks, and it will ensure that all departments can talk to each other on a common radio platform. It also helps Valley agencies comply with federal mandates for interoperable communications that were established after 9/11.

The new system is on par with the recommendations of the Texas Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, which recommended that all agencies in the state use the 800 P25 system by 2015.

Federal funds awarded for the Valley's communication system were $2.2 million. There is a required local match of $550,000 that will be shared by the fire departments receiving the equipment.

Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and legislative issues for The Monitor. He can be reached at jjanes@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4424 or on Twitter, @moncounty.