MILFORD — The city's Fire Department is getting a mass-casualty decontamination trailer that can also provide vital communications with state and regional authorities during an emergency, officials said Wednesday.

Fire Chief Louis LaVecchia said the department will receive the trailer in the next month from the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. It is one of 34 trailers purchased with federal funding that are being distributed to communities throughout the state.

"Our hazardous materials team already has a decontamination tent but it can't handle nearly the amount of people that the trailer can," he said, adding the trailer has a series of private showers that can accommodate up to 125 people per hour. "It's a good idea to have these trailers strategically located throughout the state."

Wayne Sandford, deputy commissioner of the homeland security department, said the trailer, which costs about $140,000, also includes a radio system with an antenna and a repeater that is connected to a statewide system developed last year. Emergency officials can use the radio system in the event other lines of communication aren't functioning.

"Every fire chief and police chief already has a portable radio that works on the system," Sandford said, adding the system was created after seeing the communication problems officials had when responding to Hurricane Katrina. "The system can be used to talk with other emergency officials in the region and the state to request assistance."

Sandford said the trailer also includes heating, hot water and air-conditioning units so it can be used in any type of weather condition. The trailers are being placed in communities that have or are near a hospital, he said.

"The more decontamination you can do outside of a fixed structure such as a hospital the better off you are," said Dr. Dennis McBride, director of the city's Health Department. "That way you don't run the risk of contaminating the building."

Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. said while the threat of a bioterrorism attack exists, the trailer would more likely be used in the case of a hazardous material spill.

"Being in close proximity to Interstate 95 and having many industries in the city, there is always the possibility that a hazardous material incident could happen here," he said.

Dirk Perrefort, who covers Milford, can be reached at 878-2130.