It is recommended that the City Council authorize the execution of a Communications System Agreement with the Briar-Reno Volunteer Fire Department for participation in the City of Fort Worth's Public Safety Radio System for interoperable communications in situations involving mutual aid or other multi-agency operations.

The implementation of the Fort Worth Public Safety Radio System included the development of a comprehensive interoperable communications plan for first responders from multiple agencies.

Participation in the plan is open not only to agencies that use the Fort Worth Regional Radio System as their primary communications system, but also to other mutual aid partners, such as the Briar-Reno Volunteer Fire Department (Briar-Reno), who own and maintain their own radio systems for their daily operations but require the ability to communicate with other agencies in mutual aid situations or other multi-agency operations.

The plan provides a common group of communications channels that first responders in Tarrant, Johnson, Dallas, Denton, Parker and Ellis counties may access when multiple agencies respond to a single incident.  These channels are used only for communications with other agencies during joint operations.  They are not used for an agency's day-to-day operations.  These channels are accessible to the users of any radio system connected to the Fort Worth Regional Radio System.  More than 100 agencies are able to communicate with one another via these common channels.

Briar-Reno has approved a Communications System Agreement with the City of Fort Worth to operate on the interoperable communications channels when required for mutual aid operations only.  

Briar-Reno will not utilize the Fort Worth Regional Radio System for daily operations, but only when required to communicate with public safety agencies in Fort Worth or other agencies using the Fort Worth Regional Radio System during joint operations.