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To:	Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Board of Directors
From:	Lewis T. Broschard III, Chief, Contra Costa Fire Protection District
Date:	June 7, 2022

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Application for California Fire Foundation Grant for the Purchase of UAS Equipment

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 06/07/2022

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, Director
Candace Andersen, Director
Diane Burgis, Director
Karen Mitchoff, Director
Federal D. Glover, Director

Contact:

Lewis Broschard, Deputy Chief 925-941-3300 x1101

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: June 7, 2022
,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief, or designee, to apply for grant funding from the California Fire Foundation, in an amount not to exceed $15,000, for the purchase of Unmanned Aircraft Systems equipment.

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no local match requirement.

BACKGROUND:

The California Fire Foundation is a non-profit organization currently accepting applications for wildfire safety and preparedness grants supporting fire departments, local firefighter associations, and community organizations that are based in California. Applicants whose projects directly serve high fire threat, under-resourced populations will be prioritized.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District) is seeking funding to purchase unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) equipment. Should this application result in an award of funds, the District plans to use them to purchase a DroneView SmartCase.

The DroneView SmartCase is an innovative product born out of need, and it benefits command staff by providing visibility to live drone footage anywhere, anytime, on any device. Stakeholders can click on a QR code to see what the pilot team is seeing, and be able to make critical decisions without being onsite. The video footage can be recorded and stored securely on the cloud for future access without having to sort through Secure Digital (SD) cards. The SmartCase can also broadcast Boosted Internet leveraging multiple wireless networks at once. It can charge two mobile phones simultaneously, and each battery lasts for four or more hours. Additionally, the Smart Case has 24" Super bright HD screen for local viewing (providing a sterile cockpit for pilots), advanced multi-SIM modem for cellular bonding (using multiple networks to transmit drone video and bi-directional data), and an upgraded model will have satellite capabilities for live streaming and internet access anywhere in the world.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If the Board does not approve this action, the District will not be able to take advantage of this funding opportunity to expand UAS capabilities at little or no cost to the District.