Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Firefighting will be aided by grant-funded radios

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 05:27:17 -0400

Firefighting will be aided by grant-funded radios
East Brunswick will be better equipped to fight blazes in large buildings
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — Volunteer firefighters will have an easier time communicating
during emergencies thanks to a $260,000 federal grant.

Congressman Rush Holt (D-12th District) announced last week that East Brunswick’s
three fire companies will receive the funds to purchase new portable radios. John
D’Antuono, second lieutenant for the Independent Fire Company of East Brunswick,
said the radios will help firefighters with his company and with the Brookview and
Old Bridge volunteer fire companies better communicate during emergencies —
especially when fighting fires in large buildings.

"Currently there are high-rise buildings, shopping centers, and industrial
locations throughout East Brunswick and adjacent communities in which the current
fire-ground radios do not work," Holt said. "The new radios will promote the safe,
efficient interoperability among firefighters and other first responders in the
numerous surrounding towns."

D’Antuono said the township’s fire departments did a "bottom-up assessment" of
their equipment about four years ago. They realized the radios being used were not
the most efficient.

The Motorola Model 3 portable radios, to be purchased with the grant, will have
what D’Antuono called a "man down" feature. It is a red button that, if pushed,
would tell the dispatcher, fire chief and all respondents at the scene that the
person who pushed it is in danger.

"If I press that button, they know I’m in trouble," he said. "They know that I’ve
hit a panic button, a trouble button."

He noted that a firefighter in Hackensack died recently because of poor radio
communications. He had become trapped in a closet and his radio did not work
properly.

D’Antuono said the radios being used in East Brunswick are about 11 years old, and
many do not function properly. One of the most important functions — the ability
to use different frequencies — does not work, he said. The "second frequency"
allows firefighters to communicate with each other at a scene without interfering
with those firefighters using radios elsewhere.

"It takes a group of radios and operates them locally on a scene," D’Antuono said
of the frequency.

The new radios will also allow East Brunswick firefighters to communicate with
those in surrounding municipalities such as South River, Milltown and Old Bridge
when the township is providing support to the other jurisdictions, he said.

The current radios will not work on the higher floors of places such as the Tower
Center or the Brunswick Square Mall, both on Route 18.

"We have terrible communication [there]," he said.

The money comes from two groups — the Emergency Preparedness and Response
Directorate (EP&R), which is part of the federal Department of Homeland Security,
and the United States Fire Administration (USFA), according to Holt’s office. The
grant comes through the Assistance for Firefighters Grant Program, which assists
rural, urban and suburban departments throughout the country. The government
expects to hand out $750 million in grants through the two groups.

The funds will purchase a sufficient number of Motorola Model 3 portable radios to
enable the East Brunswick fire companies to equip each responding firefighter with
a portable radio, according to Holt’s office.

"We’re really excited," D’Antuono said. "This is going to absolutely improve our
fire ground communication, particularly in buildings like the Tower Center and the
shopping malls."

D’Antuono also said he was thankful that Holt helped the three East Brunswick fire
companies write the grant request.

"Without his help, we would never have gotten this grant," he said. "We attended
two meetings, one in Monmouth Junction [a section of South Brunswick Township] and
one in Trenton. They had a FEMA representative there to show us how to write this
grant [request] and tell us what the important information was."

The request was written about three months ago after about 90 days of research.

D’Antuono said the hardest part about being approved was getting past the first
step — a "peer review" by a panel that has the ability to support or deny the
request.

East Brunswick District 1 is served by the Old Bridge Volunteer Fire Company;
District 2 by the Independent Fire Company; and District 3 by the Brookview
Volunteer Fire Company. The Old Bridge company uses the name because it is located
in East Brunswick’s Historic Village of Old Bridge.

http://ebs.gmnews.com/news/2003/0703/Front_Page/015.html

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 08:43:01 EDT

If you have any questions, i am from East Brunswick and help write the grant.