Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Bill would put all emergency response agencies on same wavelength

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:25:22 -0500

Bill would put all emergency response agencies on same wavelength
By JACOB BENNETT

State Rep. Mike Weaver uses a war story to illustrate the need for all state
emergency response agencies to use compatible radio equipment.

It was 1967 in Phu My, Vietnam. Bullets whizzed around Weaver, a platoon leader,
who was yelling for help into a backpack radio. Five of his men were down. If a
medical helicopter didn't get there soon, they wouldn't be getting up.
But no helicopter was coming, came the reply on the radio.
"It's too hot down there," Weaver was told.

That day, the fallen soldiers were in luck. A colonel flying in a chopper nearby
had been listening to their frequency on his own radio. He told Weaver's platoon
to clear him a landing zone.

"He got those five guys out of there, and in my opinion, saved five lives,"
Weaver said.
This legislative session, Weaver, a Radcliff Democrat, is pushing a bill that
would put all of Kentucky's emergency management departments on the same radio
frequency. What House Bill 226 proposes is similar to the system the military
has used for years. In the Army, a whole division of thousands of troops can
listen on the same frequencies; when catastrophe strikes in the civilian world,
five different emergency response departments could be using five different,
incompatible systems.
"It is, in my opinion, the most important piece of legislation I have carried,"
Weaver said.

Lives could have been saved if a national movement toward what is called
wireless interoperability communication had been started sooner, Weaver said.
There are more notorious examples of lives lost because rescue personnel
couldn't communicate with each other.

Officials responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 had difficulty talking with
other agencies. After the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, responders needed a
runner to carry messages between police, fire and ambulance services. The
resulting delays cost lives, Weaver said.

On 9/11, military helicopters circling the buildings noticed the towers were
glowing and warned emergency personnel on the ground not to enter.  Firefighters
didn't get the message, and more than 300 of them died when the towers
collapsed.

Weaver's bill would require emergency response departments that want to upgrade
their radio equipment to submit a plan to be reviewed by the state Wireless
Interoperability Communications Commission, which was created last year under
another piece of Weaver-sponsored legislation.  After reviewing the plans, state
officials let the applying agencies know whether they comply with desired state
standards; those that don't can tweak their plans. It will probably take several
years for all agencies to be on the same page.

"It's simply for their own benefit," Weaver said. "If we didn't have this
legislation, they wouldn't even know about it."
All state departments that have purchased new radio equipment since the creation
of the law followed the suggested guidelines, Weaver said. The federal
government is encouraging states to work together, too. Millions of dollars from
the Department of Homeland Security are available for equipment upgrades, Weaver
said. Those that qualify must show they need it to improve security.Weaver's
bill passed the House 87-0 this month, and he said he believes it will also
clear the Senate in the next few weeks. It's currently in the Veterans, Military
Affairs & Public Protection committee.

Hardin County's emergency radio equipment needs an upgrade, but compatibility
among different agencies isn't the main issue, said Louis Lawson, who is in
charge of the county's dispatch center and is the director of the Hardin County
E-911 center. Hardin County's system is nearly 20 years old and fails to reach
large pockets of rural areas. Car radios cover only about 50 percent of the
county; walkie-talkies span just 25 percent.
"We've got a major problem with our radio equipment," Lawson said.
"We've got a system that's just outdated."

Lawson said the county might have to spend $800,000 to $900,000 to buy a system
that will cover 95 percent of the county with car radios; 85 percent with
walkie-talkies. Lewis' plan to expand reach would install five towers scattered
throughout the county that would bounce signals to certain spots.

Though local police departments will maintain private frequencies, they will
still be compatible with the county's new system, Lawson said. They have
programmable radios that allow them to do that now, Lawson said.

An exact cost of the equipment hasn't been determined. County Judge-Executive
Harry Berry said he hopes to have some grant money by the end of the year. He
said officials will also try to determine if they can buy the equipment in
increments to reduce the initial impact of the costs.

"There's not $800,000 laying around here in a desk drawer," Berry said.
"Obviously, we're going to need grant money to help do it."
Jacob Bennett can be reached at 769-1200, Ext. 428, or e-mail him at
[email-masked].

http://www.newsenterpriseonline.com/articles/2004/02/17/news/news2.txt

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