Emergency telecommunications gets a boost
In addition to the radios, the Department of Public Safety is installing 22 mass decontamination trailers in strategic locations around the state.

By: Lisa Carter, Staff Writer
05/28/2003

In an effort to improve communications between emergency services agencies, the state's Department of Public Safety has purchased and distributed more than 500 portable radios to police departments, fire departments and emergency medical services agencies throughout the state for the purpose of command and control at any type of major incident.

Madison received four of the radios, which were distributed to the police chief, the two fire chiefs and the director of Madison Ambulance.

While the giveaway of four radios to the town's four departments might not sound like an earth-shattering event, Madison Police Chief Paul Jakubson, who chairs the Telecommunications and Technology Committee of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, says the radios are a major step in providing emergency services providers critical communications ability when the ordinary radio systems will not do the job.

"It's pretty exciting news," said Jakubson. "Finally we're making that step in the right direction."

The radios are part of a national system called I-CALL/I-TAC, which operates on certain frequencies in the 800MHZ radio band.

Developed in the late 1980s in an attempt to establish nationwide calling and tactical frequencies for law enforcement, the system only developed in certain pockets of the country due in large part to lack of funding.

The issue gained national attention following Sept. 11, 2001 when emergency personnel faced communications problems in New York City. Since then, federal funding has funneled down to the states for a variety of emergency preparedness measures including what is known as "communications interoperability."

In Connecticut, state officials decided to apply the I-CALL/I-TAC system for use around the state, beginning with the distribution of the portable radios purchased with $700,000 in federal grant funding.

Besides going to municipal emergency service providers, radios will also go to officials in state agencies such as DPS, the Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, the Urban Search and Rescue Unit and the 16 state fire coordinators.

In addition to the radios, DPS is installing 22 mass decontamination trailers in strategic locations around the state. The mobile units will be available for call up in the event of an incident requiring a large amount of decontamination. Because they will have their own onboard repeaters, they can also be used as mobile command centers.

"Connecticut is one of the few states, if not the first state, to embrace this to the level that we have," said Jakubson. "We're hoping that other states follow in suit."

Jakubson stressed that the new radios will not replace the current radio systems in the various agencies, but are intended for coordination of response activities across departments, especially in large-scale emergency operations such as a large fire, highway accident or evacuation due to a natural disaster.

The radio system used by Madison's police, fire and emergency medical services operates in the 450MHZ range and has some additional towns programmed in. But many towns' systems operate in a different range and are not compatible. Recently some towns have switched to a digital system, while Madison still operates on an analog system
.
The chief cited an incident six months ago in which Madison police officers were chasing a burglary suspect in Killingworth. Both state police and Clinton police participated in the operation, but each of the three departments operated radios on their own separate frequencies and could only communicate with each other by using dispatch as an intermediary.

"If we had a common calling channel or common operating frequency, we could switch to it, and we could sit there and have safe, effective communications on a one-to-one base," said Jakubson.

While one might think that cell phones would be an answer to the incompatibility issue, the fact is that commercial cell phone systems cannot be relied on for communication during critical incidents. The possibility of such problems as delayed connections, busy signals, dead zones and system overload during emergency situations make them inappropriate for emergency services personnel.

The portable radios that Madison received look like walkie-talkies. With their recharging units, they are valued at approximately $1,000.

To use the unit, one must first switch it on and call the DPS message center in Middletown and request activation of a tactical channel. Then one must choose between operating it in the localized or direct mode or going through a repeater for a wider area of coverage.

The closest repeaters to Madison are in North Guilford and Lyme. Once all parties with the units get activated, they can then talk to each other directly through the radios.
Jakubson said the recent radio distribution is only the first phase of the funding.

With approximately $800,000 in additional federal money expected, officials are considering installing larger radio units in each of the state's public safety answering points, which in Madison's case is its dispatch center. The larger units would work the same way as the field units but could be controlled by personnel in the building and would allow for better communication in emergency situations than the old civil defense frequencies currently used.
Jakubson also said that he would like to purchase one or two additional portable units and vehicle adapter kits so radios could be placed in a supervisory type vehicle. If an incident occurs and a supervisor responds at the scene, he would then have a radio available to him.

Funds would come from the town's radio reserve account, which is infused every year with additional funding. Jakubson had hoped to add $26,000 to this account, which had previously been allocated as an undesignated fund balance for the Police Building Project, but the selectmen voted to put that money back into the town's general fund for greater flexibility.

Despite that setback, Jakubson is pleased with the enhancements in communications through the radios but added that it is long overdue.

"I've been in this business 29 years, and it just never ceases to amaze me why this wasn't done a long time ago," he said. "It's unfortunate, but it boils down to money. And when you're dealing in public safety, when you're dealing with the protection and safeguarding of the public's well being out there and the people that provide that service, you can't shortchange it."

©Shore Line Times 2008