To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: FY 26 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant - Portable Chemical Identification Analyzer
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing board of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, RATIFY the Fire District's grant application; and APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to accept grant funding, if awarded, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grants Program in an amount not to exceed $205,232 for the purchase of a portable chemical identification analyzer.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) could receive up to $205,232 in federal funds if awarded, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. There is no local agency cost-sharing requirement. The grant award may be lower than the amount requested and will be for a period of one year from the award's effective date.
BACKGROUND:
The FY 2026 Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Program assists high-threat, high-density urban areas in building and sustaining the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism. The UASI program is intended to provide financial assistance to address the unique multi-disciplinary planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas and to assist these areas in building and sustaining capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from threats or acts of terrorism using a "Whole Community" approach. Activities implemented with UASI funds must support terrorism preparedness by building or enhancing capabilities that relate to the prevention of, protection from, mitigation of, response to or recovery from terrorism in order to be considered eligible.
However, many capabilities that support terrorism preparedness also support preparedness for other hazards. Grantees must demonstrate dual use for any activities implemented that are not explicitly focused on terrorism preparedness. Urban areas must use UASI funds to implement regional approaches to overall preparedness and are encouraged to adopt regional response structures whenever appropriate. UASI program implementation and governance must include regional partners and should provide balanced representation among entities with operational responsibilities for prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery within the region.
The Fire District has applied for grant funding to purchase a portable chemical identification device to support its hazardous materials response program. The device will enable responders to rapidly identify unknown solid and liquid substances at incident scenes without waiting for off-site laboratory analysis. This capability will improve responder and public safety by reducing uncertainty, guiding appropriate personal protective equipment and mitigation actions, and supporting faster, more informed tactical decisions. The device will be used during hazardous materials incidents, unknown substance calls, suspicious powder investigations, and other chemical-related emergencies to reduce incident duration, improve scene safety, and enhance overall operational effectiveness.
To meet the grant application deadline, the Fire District submitted the application on January 27, 2026, and requests that the Board ratify it.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Fire District would not be able to accept this grant nor acquire the equipment.