Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Feds to fire depts: Talk amongst yourselves

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2003 18:59:04 -0400

Feds to fire depts: Talk amongst yourselves

By Dinah Cardin / [email-masked]
Wednesday, July 9, 2003

Wakefield firefighters will at long last be able to
communicate with fire departments from
neighboring communities during emergencies
and major incidents thanks to a federal
Homeland Security grant of $2.2 million.

The money was awarded to METROFIRE, a
regional group of fire departments from 33 cities
and towns, including Boston, to help guard
against terrorist threats.

Despite advances in communication technology
over the last few years, firefighters from different
departments working at a fire have been unable
to speak to each other over their portable radios.

Lessons learned in lost communication during
the emergency response to 9-11 may help save
lives in the future, said Wakefield Fire Chief
David Parr.

"Let's say a big fire or, God forbid, a plane crash
or explosion happened in Wakefield. We get
help from all these cities and towns around us.
But there's no common radio channel that
everyone can switch to and talk to each other,"
he said. "Since the early 1980s we've been
working to solve this problem. The issue is,
there's never been any federal money until now
to fix it."

"Once an event has occurred, the firefighters and the EMTS are the ones who will
provide direct rescue services to the citizens," said Parr. "It's the only way
that the firefighters and the EMTS can protect themselves in an emergency. Portable radios
become their lifeline."

Gov. Mitt Romney said last month Massachusetts was the first state in the nation
to award its share of the federal funds, which will be distributed to 37 state
agencies, regional groups and communities to purchase homeland security equipment.

Homeland security money has been slow to be released, said Winchester Fire
Chief John Nash, who was instrumental in obtaining the competitive grant.

"Monies for firefighters in general have been scarce," he said. "The federal
government has realized fire fighters are most at risk and the first line of
response."

Law enforcement, on the other hand, has enjoyed the availability of federal grants
for decades, he said, in the form of money for DARE and community policing
programs.

The grant will help fund two vital equipment upgrades that will revolutionize the
handling of large incidents that require response from more than one fire
department, said Parr.

The number one problem identified in large-scale incidents across the country has
been communication, he said. Communication in fire emergencies is critical and
has been scarce and sometimes obsolete, he said.

A lack of a properly working radio system was identified as a major contributor to
lost lives during the collapse of the Twin Towers, said Nash.

Police units in helicopters had identified which floors would collapse due to
heat. But that message wasn't relayed inside in time, he said. "Until Sept. 11, people didn't recognize the need to have emergency personnel talk
to each other," said Parr. "We can talk to people on the moon and in space, but
firefighters can't talk across the street to each other."

Radio frequency is scare these days. Departments within METROFIRE are using
equipment that is 25 years old and no longer supported by the manufacturer, said
Parr. The funding has not been available on the local side of things, he said, and

certainly wouldn't be here in these budgetary times if it weren't for help from
the federal government.

Firefighters and police from multiple departments will be able to communicate
directly with the help of the grant. Though the current system can communicate
over long distances, newly placed antennas will allow firefighters to communicate
within closer proximity. As it works now, the signal might have to travel five miles to
an antenna before it's received by another person, who is standing 50 feet away.

The magic word, said Parr, is "interoperability." The hope is that every fire
department and fire truck and firefighter will be able to talk to each other if
needed. During Wakefield's serious fire in 1997 at the Oddfellows building, which is now
The Savings Bank, the building looked like it might collapse. When the chief
issued the evacuation order, it had to be repeated over two or three channels, causing
rescue people to lose time.

Radio signals also have a hard time penetrating steel buildings. A commander can
speak to fire alarm control 10 miles away, yet can't communicate with a
firefighter in the basement of the building, said Nash.

Mobile radio repeaters will place the antenna at the site of the emergency. The
hardware will be purchased and installed, most probably, late in the year, said
Parr, adding there is some pretty extensive work to be done.

The grant will also fund a mobile communication center, something departments
need, but hope they'll never have to use. The center, used at major incidents and
disasters, looks like a big bus.

The command center, shared by departments in METROFIRE, has space for
high-level meetings with different emergency managers and carries radios, cell
phones, fax machines and Internet capabilities. An incident can be "run" inside
the van, said Parr, by bringing the communication center and all it's capabilities to
the incident.

Just as predicted, said Parr, federal money coming down the pipeline is a
response to 9-11 - for prevention and handling of terrorist acts - slated for
training, communication and equipment, such as hazardous materials suits and radiation
detectors.

The department, at 46 firefighters, is still short four men compared to one year
ago. They have all been lost due to retirement and not replaced.

There is no money for personnel, either for hiring or to supplement existing
personnel or to pay the overtime of those working to fill the gaps, said Parr.

"We're certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth," he said. "You can
buy 300 portable radios, but if you don't have anyone to use them, they aren't going
to do much good."

The Greenwood Fire Station is still $100,000 short of being kept open all year.

"But the Greenwood station is open today and it will stay open in the fall," said
Parr.

The issue will be reassessed at the November Town Meeting, he said, where he
hopes the town will find some funding in the budget to keep the station open for
the full 12 months.

 http://www.townonline.com/wakefield/news/local_regional/wak_covwkfiregrant07092003.htm

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 13:40:25 +0000

Another case of Government BS. The Metrofire system has grown from a single 
VHF channel to a 3 channel UHF system with the original VHF channel tied to 
one of the UHF's for simulcast. There is only one department in Metrofire, AKA 
Fire district 13, that is not on UHF or VHF and that is the city of Cambridge 
MA. They went 800 at the urging of the current fire chief. In fact the current 
Cambridge city fire chief has done consulting work pushing 800 as the answer 
to everybody's radio problems.

This is a gift from the feds so Metrofire is playing along. They will upgrade 
what they have, buy a few radios and supposedly everybody will be happy. There 
are other fire districts here in Mass that are in much greater need of 
interoperablility. I live in fire district 14. We have departments on 33, 46, 
154, 453 and 483 MHz. District 14 tried building a crossband repeater from 33 
to 46 and UHF. It never worked. The 33-46 side is up and used fairly often. 

Pardon my attitude, but the lack of common sense and radio knowledge among 
these alleged experts is terrifying.

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