City Council authorizes $144,160 total purchase of 20 portable radios to maintain reliable communications for firefighters and command staff
When Folsom firefighters respond to a structure fire, vehicle crash or other emergency, the portable radio clipped to their gear can become one of their most important pieces of safety equipment.
It is the connection between firefighters working in hazardous conditions and the incident commanders coordinating the response outside. It carries evacuation orders, emergency traffic and, in the most serious circumstances, a firefighter’s mayday call.
On Tuesday night, the Folsom City Council approved the purchase of 20 replacement portable radios for the Folsom Fire Department as the agency continues dealing with an aging radio inventory that has become increasingly difficult — and in some cases impossible — to repair.
The council authorized the city manager to execute a purchase agreement with Motorola Solutions for the radios and associated equipment at a cost not to exceed $144,160. Funding will come from the city’s Fire Vehicle/Equipment Fund, where sufficient money has already been budgeted for the purchase.
According to the city staff report, Motorola portable radios serve as the Fire Department’s primary means of communication during fireground operations and other emergency responses. Those communications are critical for incident command and coordination and are used for emergency traffic, mayday notifications, evacuation and withdrawal orders, tracking units and personnel, and coordinating operations as incidents rapidly change.
The problem facing the department has been developing for several years.
Motorola notified customers in 2019 that the radio model currently used by the department was entering the end-of-support stage as newer technology and system enhancements were introduced that were no longer compatible with the older platform.
That eventually eliminated more than routine manufacturer support. According to the staff report, Motorola no longer provides the programming support, including current code plug support, or the hardware and replacement parts necessary to maintain and repair the existing units.
The Fire Department continued looking elsewhere for ways to keep the radios operating, using aftermarket repair options as the manufacturer support disappeared. Those alternatives have now largely been exhausted, according to the city.
As a result, the department has been experiencing an increasing number of radio failures in which the units cannot be repaired and returned to service.
Each failed radio also reduces the department’s available inventory. City staff said that attrition is increasingly limiting the department’s ability to provide dependable communications equipment to firefighters assigned to first-out emergency response units and to command personnel.
Continued losses from the radio inventory could further reduce the department’s ability to maintain adequate communications coverage during emergencies, particularly incidents involving multiple units. The staff report warned that could increase risks to personnel and affect the coordination of emergency operations.
The city has previously sought another way to address the larger issue. According to the report, the Fire Department has pursued grant funding in recent years that would have allowed it to replace the entire radio platform, but those grant applications were unsuccessful.
Rather than continuing to wait while additional radios fail, the department proposed the smaller purchase approved Tuesday.
Staff characterized the acquisition of 20 radios as a minimum, targeted replacement intended to immediately restore reliable communications for daily operations and maintain continuity while addressing the most pressing equipment needs.
The replacement radios will be assigned throughout the department’s first-out emergency response units, including chief officers. The intent is to ensure firefighters and commanders responding to calls have dependable fireground communications and to restore what the department described as an appropriate level of operational readiness.
The purchase will be made directly from Motorola Solutions rather than through a competitive bidding process. City staff said Motorola’s portable radios and programming are proprietary and must remain compatible with Folsom’s existing radio infrastructure, making the purchase eligible for the city’s sole-source procurement process.
Under the Folsom Municipal Code, contracts for supplies, equipment, services and construction valued at $77,426 or more require City Council approval. The municipal code also allows a contract to be awarded without competition when the city determines there is only one source capable of providing the required equipment or service and the required internal reviews and approvals are completed.
The equipment being purchased consists of Motorola APX6000 XE portable radios configured for the department’s communications system. Motorola’s quote lists 20 radios along with programming and communications capabilities, ruggedized housings, batteries, service coverage and other equipment.
The base portable radios were quoted at $58,860 after discounts. Other components and features include P25 trunking capability, rugged-radio enhancements, SmartZone operation, digital communications capability and enhanced zone-bank software. The package also includes 20 remote speaker microphones and additional portable radio batteries.
The Motorola quote totals $133,790.60 before tax, with an estimated $10,368.77 in taxes, bringing the quoted total to $144,159.37. The council authorization allows spending up to $144,160.
The entire purchase, including the radios, accessories, programming, applicable taxes and fees, will be paid through the Fire Vehicle/Equipment Fund. City staff reported that sufficient funding is already budgeted and available in that account, meaning the action does not require an additional General Fund appropriation.
For the Fire Department, the purchase addresses an equipment issue that becomes increasingly significant each time another aging radio reaches the point where it can no longer be repaired. While the 20 new radios do not represent a complete replacement of the department’s radio platform, they provide replacements for the units most important to daily emergency response while the city continues managing the longer-term needs of the communications system.
According to the staff report, maintaining that dependable radio connection is ultimately about firefighter safety, effective incident command and the department’s ability to continue providing reliable emergency services when crews are called into situations where clear communication can be critical.
Copyright © 2026, Folsom Times, a digital product of All Town Media LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
