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Success Factors
Availability & Responsiveness
Fire Chief Weatherford emphasized the responsiveness of Anaguma and Paygasus throughout the project. When an issue arose, he knew he could contact the team and either receive an answer immediately or quickly get connected with one of their technical experts. “When I made that call to Monroe, I knew it was handled,” he said.
Technical Follow-through
The project required repeated troubleshooting as VPN, computer, and configuration issues surfaced. The team remained engaged throughout the implementation process, bringing in additional technical resources as needed and resolving issues as they emerged until the fire department had the seamless connectivity it needed. “These guys never lifted and were always just right there on the spot,” Weatherford said.
Real-world Testing
“You can’t take it out in the field and trust it and just start ordering stuff,” Monroe said. That’s why Anaguma & Paygasus offered Buckskin Fire Department the opportunity to test the equipment in the environment where it would actually be used before moving forward with the broader deployment.
Remote Configuration & Optimization
“I ran power to it, and they took care of everything else,” Weatherford said of the installation. Peplink InControl 2 allowed the technical team to remotely configure and adjust the deployment as the fire department tested it in real-world conditions.
Anaguma and Paygasus combined Peplink cellular routers, Antenna MAX S, and Starlink connectivity to help Buckskin Fire Department crews stay connected from the station into the field.
Buckskin Fire Department serves a rural area north of Parker, Arizona. Its team handles medical emergencies, rescues, wildland incidents, and other community needs across the region.
Their computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system provides critical information, including call locations, reported patient symptoms, and the type of fire or hazmat situation crews may encounter. Other responding engines and nearby departments also rely on the CAD system to get incident updates and determine what resources may be required.
The Challenge: Overcoming unreliable connectivity in the field
Buckskin Fire Department operates in an area where cellular reception ranges from limited to nonexistent. Crews could connect to CAD while their engines were at the station, but as soon as they pulled out, that connection often dropped. The department had tried different cellular and internet providers but had not found a way to make that transition seamless.
Buckskin also had to contend with VPN requirements and computer configuration issues that added another layer of complexity to the deployment.
Monroe Melvin, Principal at Anaguma, proposed combining a Peplink 5G cellular router and Starlink terminal using the Antenna MAX S. Peplink’s Antenna MAX S serves as an all-in-one enclosure for the router and Starlink terminal, with integrated cellular, Wi-Fi, and GPS antennas.
Buckskin Fire Chief Jason Weatherford highlighted the advantage of the Antenna MAX S integrated design. By housing the Peplink cellular router and Starlink terminal together in one enclosure, the Antenna MAX S created a cleaner, more consolidated installation with fewer cables running inside the vehicles.
The partners provided equipment for the department to test in its actual operating environment before committing to it, but their support went far beyond just sending gear for testing. In Chief Weatherford’s words, they also “brought a wizard along.”
Once the equipment was installed, Anaguma and Paygasus handled the remote provisioning, configuration, and ongoing optimization. Using Peplink InControl 2, the team could work through settings remotely while Buckskin tested the system in the field.
VPN behavior, IP addressing, computer updates, and other configuration changes introduced new roadblocks even after the system was up and running. The team continued adjusting settings, troubleshooting, and refining the configuration around Buckskin’s specific environment.
“When I say that Monroe and team gave me the time, the customer service surpassed all expectations,” Weatherford said. For Monroe, that level of support reflects how he approaches customer relationships. “The sale starts after it’s closed,” he said. “That’s when the real work begins.”
The Outcome: A seamless transition from the station into the field
For Chief Weatherford, the key outcome was uninterrupted connectivity. “The connectivity is night and day,” he said. “It is literally night and day. We’re able to leave the station and stay connected to the Internet.”
During medical calls, crews can now use tablets to document and update incidents in the field, including inside patients’ homes or along the highway. Previously, crews had to return to the station, log back in, reconnect, and start the process again.
Now, they can have their reports nearly complete by the time they return to the station. Chief Weatherford described crews making calls over the internet from the roadside, as well as using their phones to take pictures and update calls while in the field. “The connectivity is amazing,” he said. “We’re there. We’re set.”
What’s Next: Expanding connected response
Chief Weatherford said one nearby fire department was already running it alongside Buckskin, with plans to expand it more broadly through La Paz County. Buckskin Fire Department is also looking to extend the solution to its wildland equipment, with teams that mobilize in response to incidents across the country.
