By PETER HEGARTY   
Contra Costa Times

Firefighters expect to cut their 911 response time thanks to a federal grant that will pay for new computers in their fire engines, ladder trucks and other vehicles.

Along with connecting each vehicle directly with the Alameda County dispatch center, the system will allow dispatchers to send the closest vehicle to a 911 call -- and not the vehicle from the nearest fire station, which is what happens now.

"That's the big advantage in all this," Fire Division Chief Mike Fisher said.

The $612,516 grant from the Department of Homeland Security -- and which is being distributed among a host of East Bay agencies -- will also pay for installing global positioning satellites in emergency vehicles.

Among the agencies that are receiving money are Fremont and Union City fire departments, along with those that serve Alameda County and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The "mobile data system" will link all 75 command and first-line fire vehicles within the departments. It will also link the vehicles directly with the Alameda County dispatch center in Livermore.

By going wireless, "real-time" information will be made available to responding emergency crews, Fisher said.

Alameda officials expect the system will be up and running here by June.

"The award of this grant will make it possible to move to the next level and track/coordinate the response of all of the units in the system, which during a major seismic event or fire is essential," according to Alameda County Fire Chief Bill McCammon.

Along with streamlining communication, the system will provide crews with detailed maps and building information, such as layout drawings, and it will show where hazardous materials are stored and where streets are closed.