Supervisors accept San Diego Regional Fire Foundation donation of portable generators, radio upgrades

Because San Diego County Board of Supervisors approval is necessary for the county to accept a donation valued at $99,200, the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation offer was part of the Jan. 26 agenda. The supervisors' comments of appreciation were followed by a 5-0 vote to accept three portable generators worth $71,200 and upgrades of radio-based Internet connectivity worth $28,000.

"It's extremely important to have communications," said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

"I want to thank the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation for being a great partner in public safety for the county," said Supervisor Bill Horn.

The county and the University of California, San Diego partnered on the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) early detection and monitoring system; first responder activities benefit the county while the system gives the university research and education benefits. The existing HPWREN network includes more than 20 mountaintop cameras.

The county has been involved in other initiatives associated with HPWREN including a Next Generation Incident Command System which assists local agencies in identifying and mapping wildland fires, the Operational Downlink Information Network, and the Advanced Situational Awareness for Public Safety Network known as ASAPnet.

San Diego Gas & Electric was also a partner in those three initiatives which allow real-time data to be transmitted to incident commanders on the ground, connect fire stations for enhanced operational readiness, and allow for better situational awareness on fire lines.

The San Diego Regional Fire Foundation receives its funding from other foundations, from businesses, and from San Diego Regional Fire Foundation board members. The San Diego Regional Fire Foundation identifies initiatives and then inquires of potential donors whether they would help fund those grants.

"This is really a true partnership," said Supervisor Ron Roberts.

The $28,000 grant will allow expansion of the ASAPnet project by providing microwave radio-based Internet connectivity to remote fire stations in Boulevard and Jacumba and also allowing for the upgrade of radios at six existing fire stations to increase reliability and capacity.

"They can establish better connectivity in the backcountry," said San Diego Regional Fire Foundation executive director Joan Jones.

The three portable generators can be used to charge medical devices and other critical technology in the event of a blackout or other large-scale emergency. The generators will be pre-positioned in central locations for deployment as needed.

"They can be moved to any location where we need to have electricity," said San Diego Regional Fire Foundation board chair Frank Ault. "It prepares us for any emergency that might occur within the county."

Ault noted that the emergency might not be associated with a wildfire. "It could be any disaster which occurs within the county," he said.