N.Y. Grants Available for Communication Upgrades

Aug. 07--The third round of a statewide competitive grant program may help to significantly defray the cost of a proposed $15 million overhaul of Jefferson County's public safety communications systems, according to Director of Fire and Emergency Management Joseph D. Plummer.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Monday that $75 million in Statewide Interoperability Communications Grants would be up for grabs to help counties strengthen their individual emergency radio systems and improve intercounty communications.

Counties that received grant awards during the first two rounds of the program will not be eligible for this round of funding, leaving 23 out of the state's 62 counties to compete for the money.

Mr. Plummer said that Jefferson County will be applying for $6 million -- the maximum amount available.

Two weeks ago, county legislators saw the initial sketch of a project that would involve obtaining new frequencies, building 12 to 15 antenna towers and buying hardware and software to bring the county's radio system, which officials called antiquated, into the 21st century.

Though the project is daunting in terms of its scope and expense, those involved in providing emergency services within the county -- including Mr. Plummer -- insist that the project is necessary to keep up with major changes in technology.

Robert J. Simpson, second assistant chief in the Adams Fire Department and a longtime firefighter, said that he can remember when the county first began installing radio systems in fire trucks in the 1950s.

The basic structure of the system, which was designed so that trucks could talk back to a base station, has changed little in the ensuing decades though it has been asked to bear an ever increasing workload, Mr. Simpson said.

Emergency medical services, which started to become more prevalent in the 1970s, created an unanticipated burden on the system.

Now, about 80 percent of communication on the system is EMS-related, Mr. Simpson said.

More recently, interference from wireless routers has made the already overburdened system even harder to keep clear.

"Wireless modems are creating a tremendous amount of interference for us," Mr. Simpson said.

But, perhaps most importantly, a widespread move toward synthetic building materials, which give off poisonous fumes when on fire, has posed a significant risk to firefighters such that every firefighter who goes into a building needs an air pack and a radio, according to Mr. Simpson.

The county's current system operates on the VHF low band frequency range, around 46 MHz. Signals propagated at that frequency do not travel well through walls.

The county is looking to move to the UHF range, around 450 MHz. The higher frequency of the radio waves in that spectrum enable radio signals to punch through walls and other obstacles, allowing firefighters and other first responders to communicate more effectively in an interior environment.

Operating in the UHF range would also allow the county's radio system to transmit digital signals, something that is becoming more standard for emergency response personnel.

Some fire and ambulance companies in the county have begun using UHF radios cross-banded to the VHF spectrum in order to allow their personnel to talk in such situations, resulting in a patchwork of systems and frequencies that a countywide upgrade would simplify.

A new system would also allow "talkgroups," which would allow personnel to use their portable handheld radios to communicate with each other either in close quarters or across the county without having to be routed through the dispatch center, which is already dealing with an immense volume of calls, Mr. Simpson said.

Entities that are not currently on the same radio system, like the Highway Department, would be brought under the umbrella of the county's system, allowing for more effective communication in the event of a natural disaster, according to Mr. Simpson.

In order to proceed with the project, the county must first secure a range of frequencies that must also be approved by the Canadian government given the county's proximity to the border.

Copyright 2013 - Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.