The Governor has signed a budget clean-up bill containing $12 million in one-time funding for the Stanislaus County Office of Emergency Services to improve communications and coordination between local emergency service personnel.

“After ten years we are in serious need of new radio equipment and infrastructure across the county,” said Modesto Fire Division Chief Michael Lillie. “The radios we currently use were discontinued by the manufacturer in 2014, and four years later in 2018 they discontinued service and repairs as well.”

The Modesto Fire Department along with other local departments in Stanislaus County are currently relying on an outdated and failing system that is in critical need of replacement. On June 5, 2018 the Modesto Fire Department experienced a complete system failure that saw firefighters in the field unable to communicate with each other or with the command center.

“This radio funding is critical to the success and reliability of the fire service and we thank the Governor for authorizing the request,” said local Assemblyman Heath Flora. “Emergency situations change by the minute, and they don’t wait for you to step outside to find a better signal.”

Funding provided to Stanislaus County would be administered to local fire departments within the county to upgrade radios and improve radio communication infrastructure that fail to meet state and federal regulations as well as first responder needs.

Assemblyman Flora represents the 12th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Denair, Empire, Escalon, Farmington, Hickman, Hughson, Keyes, Lathrop, Linden, Lockeford, Manteca, Modesto, Oakdale, Ripon, Riverbank, Salida, Turlock, Victor, and Waterford.