To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: FY 26 Urban Area Security Initiative Grant - Portable Personal Radiation Detectors
☒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 $19,920 for the purchase of eleven portable personal radiation detectors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) could receive up to $19,920 in federal funds if awarded. 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 related to the prevention of, protection from, mitigation of, response to, or recovery from terrorism to be considered eligible.
However, many capabilities that support terrorism preparedness simultaneously support preparedness for other hazards. Grantees must demonstrate the dual-use quality for any activities implemented that are not explicitly focused on terrorism preparedness. Urban areas must use UASI funds to employ 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 have balanced representation among entities with operational responsibilities for prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities within the region.
The Fire District has applied for grant funding to purchase eleven portable personal radiation detectors to strengthen regional hazardous materials and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosives (CBRNE) response capabilities. These devices enable responders to quickly detect and measure ionizing radiation during incidents involving unknown substances, suspicious packages, and potential radiological threats. Field-deployable radiological detection improves situational awareness, reduces uncertainty, and supports informed tactical decisions, enhancing responder and public safety. Integrating this capability across multiple operational areas increases regional readiness to assess, monitor, and respond to radiological hazards as part of all-hazards emergency operations.
In order to meet the grant application deadline, the Fire District submitted this grant application on January 27, 2026, and is requesting the Board to ratify the application of this grant.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Fire District would not be able to accept this grant nor acquire the equipment.