When Ray Sayre first realized that only 17 percent of Santa Cruz County could utilize the existing wireless system available to emergency responders, he said, he set out to find a way to increase coverage. As director of emergency management for the county, Sayre said, he felt strongly that there was a need for all emergency responders, including law enforcement, fire districts, civil air patrol, wildland firefighters, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol to be able to communicate with each other. “We have to be able to work as a team,” he said. “On a wildland fire, for example, the sheriff might be responsible for evacuation efforts in an area, but at present, might not be able to communicate with the firefighters.” The existing communications system, known as AIRS (Arizona Intra-operable Radio System) and administered through the Arizona Department of Public Safety, consists of only one repeater in the county, located near the U.S.-Mexico border on Tank Hill in Nogales. A repeater is a device that receives and retransmits a signal, in order to increase the range of communication. The AIRS repeater in Nogales is at a relatively low point, according to Sayre, and is quite limited in its range. Initially, Sayre said, he hoped to enhance the existing AIRS system by adding more repeaters throughout the county. In 2015, his office received a $72,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security for the project, but “couldn’t make it happen because of technical issues related to not enough power supply and potential cross interference,” he said.