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San Francisco DEM outlines radio replacement, grant wins and hazard‑planning steps
Summary
DEM Director Anne Cronenberg told the Disaster Council the city will replace aging 800 MHz radios, has secured the region’s UASI allocation (~$27.4 million), updated its hazard mitigation plan, and is rolling out community tools to boost neighborhood resilience.
San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management told the Disaster Council it is moving forward on a multi‑year replacement of the city’s 800 megahertz public‑safety radio system and strengthening community preparedness tools.
DEM Director Anne Cronenberg said the city’s 800 MHz radios are well past their typical 10‑year lifespan and that the department has hired Federal Engineering to prepare a full replacement plan and budget. “The average lifespan of an 800 megahertz radio is about 10 years, so we’re well over the lifespan,” Cronenberg said, and she told the council the consultant will begin interviews with public‑safety staff in June and July and that planning targets were to complete the planning phase in 2014 with deployment by 2018.
Cronenberg also told the council that the Bay Area’s Urban Area Security Initiative allocation this year is about $27,400,000 for the region and that UASI funds are used for equipment, training, exercises and personnel. She said the department recently finished an update to the city’s Hazard Mitigation Plan to add pandemic and climate change risk profiles and to capture critical city‑owned assets located outside the city limits.
DEM described other preparedness work that ties into communications and community readiness: a recent partnership with the neighborhood platform Nextdoor and a new SF72 public preparedness portal (presented separately at the meeting) designed to help neighbors share supplies, skills and real‑time information during an incident. Cronenberg also listed routine planned activations and public events—Fleet Week, the Bridal Parade and New Year’s Eve—as recurring exercises for the department.
The department emphasized training, interagency interviews and budgeting as near‑term tasks. The council was asked to expect outreach from the consultant and to participate in planning conversations as the replacement plan is developed.
