Ketchikan gets $3 million Justice Department grant to replace its radio system

The U.S. Department of Justice obligated $3 million on Sept. 25 for the City of Ketchikan to replace its radio communication system.

Firefighters and other responders depend on radio links with dispatch and with one another during emergencies. The city's 2020-2024 capital improvement plan lists reliable islandwide radio communication as a safety need for the fire department. Terrain, remote locations and weather can break those links, the plan says.

The radio work is not new. The 2020-2024 plan described a multiyear replacement driven by aging equipment and component failures. It budgeted $439,566 for a fire radio upgrade, with design and equipment ordering in 2019, installation in 2020 and added fiber and electrical work. The city's 2025-2029 capital improvement program still lists E911 dispatch, radio system and handheld radio upgrades as needs.

The money comes through the Community Oriented Policing Services Technology and Equipment Program, which funds projects Congress designated by name. The FY 2026 program resource guide lists Ketchikan's project as Replace Radio Communication System. It is the largest of three Alaska awards from the program obligated that day. Anchorage received $305,000 for its police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Bethel received $70,000.

The grant runs through Jan. 31, 2028, and requires no local match. Equipment should meet standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Office of Law Enforcement Standards, according to the federal award record. Under program rules, purchases must come on or after the award's Jan. 23 start date, and the equipment must supplement rather than replace equipment the city would otherwise have paid for itself.

The $3 million is obligated, meaning committed, not yet spent, according to the federal record.