Subject: [NEXTEL-1] More Info on NYC in the Power Outage

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:11:17 -0400

-------- Original Message --------
From: [email-masked]
Subject: More Info on NYC in the Power Outage

HEROES STUNNED BY A RADIO DAZE 
By DAVID SEIFMAN, BRAD HAMILTON and ADAM MILLER

NY Post
 
In an eerie echo of Sept. 11, radio communications among city cops,
firefighters and EMS workers were crippled on several occasions during
the Great Blackout of 2003, officials said yesterday. 

And the city's 911 phone system was down for 32 minutes after the power
outage started because of a problem with phone giant Verizon. 

But there was no indication the problems resulted in any injuries or
fatalities. Five people died in blackout-related incidents across the
city. 

And emergency workers were widely praised for their performance. 

On three occasions totaling about 30 minutes, the Emergency Medical
Service radio system was shut down, and its computer system collapsed
once for 15 minutes, said spokesman Robert Ungar. 
"The fact that we were unable to contact our units and assign them
caused tremendous delays in our response times," he said. 

The NYPD and FDNY both reported problems with their handheld radios.
Firefighters, plagued by communication trouble on Sept. 11, 2001, have
been phasing in new digital radios. Cops still use the same analog
radios they had during the World Trade Center terror attacks. 

As the blackout continued late Thursday night, one Manhattan cop
complained that several precincts ended up sharing one frequency - and
even that one went dead. 
Afterward, there was no radio transmission for several hours, said the
officer, who asked not to be identified. 
As of Friday morning, he said, he still had no channels working. "It was
very frustrating," he said. 

A top police official blamed the transmission problems on weakened
repeaters, the electronic boosters that relay radio calls and help cops
keep in contact with each other. In areas of Queens and Brooklyn,
communications failed after repeaters that were running on backup
batteries ran out of juice earlier than cops expected, sources said. 

The FDNY also experienced radio problems, which they attributed to a
failed communications link provided by Verizon. 
FDNY spokesman Francis Gribbon said the link, "allows our dispatchers to
transmit an over-the-air radio frequency to the field units." He said
they failed on three occasions - for 14 minutes, 11 minutes and seven
minutes. The firefighters union did not return a call seeking further
explanation. 

In the wake of communications problems on Sept. 11, the city put out a
report saying Port Authority repeaters malfunctioned during the rescue
efforts, preventing firefighters from contacting each other in the Twin
Towers. Mayor Bloomberg then vowed to make improvements in technology
used by emergency workers, proposing the installation of signal boosters
on city high-rise buildings. 

But last November, the Port Authority issued its own report that claimed
78 minutes of talk among The Bravest proved its repeaters were working
properly. 

Meanwhile, the Big Apple yesterday returned to near normal after the
biggest power failure in history. The subways were back on track just a
few hours after power was officially restored to the entire city at 9:03
p.m. Friday. Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road were both up to
speed, as well as the Port Authority Bus Terminal. 

"I'm happy to report that pretty much everything is back to normal after
the power outage," the mayor said yesterday. 
Bloomberg also announced Rockaway Beach will reopen today, but other
city beaches will remain closed due to potential contamination from
discharged sewage. 

Additional reporting by Larry Celona, Kenneth Lovett, Jennifer Fermino
and Stefan C. Friedman

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/l.m7sD/LIdGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/