The $3 million Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant program of the New York Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services (DHSES) gave an important boost to the ambitious Consolidated Two-Way Radio System Project in Dutchess County last week. The Department of Emergency Response is currently working to facilitate the construction of a new interoperable countywide public-safety radio network that will improve coverage gaps and increase reliability for first responder radio communications. County Executive Sue Serino announced that the $3 million award will help offset the County’s costs in this regard.
The estimated overall cost of the County’s Consolidated Two-Way Radio System Project is $32 million.
In an emergency, seconds count, especially when trying to coordinate help between responding agencies and lives are potentially on the line,” stated County Executive Serino. Our dedication to guaranteeing public safety depends on first responders’ capacity to promptly share emergency information so that agencies can plan an effective response. Due to the hard and intricate effort that our Emergency Response team put into this project, Dutchess County is now leading the state in solving these vital communications issues. We are grateful that Governor Hochul and the DHSES acknowledged our work and offered more funding for this important investment.
The grant will assist in the purchase of a Project 25 (P25) digital radio system, which, once installed, will assist in unifying various agencies into a single emergency radio communications system. This will guarantee efficient, direct communication between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department, the first responders in Dutchess County, and the agencies in neighboring counties. The P25 system will greatly enhance communications coverage throughout the County, boost system resilience, and integrate emerging technologies in addition to enhancing collaboration amongst agencies and disciplines (fire, emergency medical services, and law enforcement).
Emergency communications infrastructure is critical to preventing coverage gaps that could prove fatal in an emergency,” stated Emergency Response Commissioner Dana Smith. When our new radio system is finished, all of the county’s law enforcement, fire, and emergency services will utilize it, which will save money and improve communication between our 9-1-1 center and the other agencies.
Starting in 2022, the County’s radio project involved locating, planning, and erecting 19 more radio tower locations across Dutchess County. Testing is planned for late 2025, and it is anticipated that equipment installation and site building will start later this year.
The City of Ripon is looking to replace the outdated technology necessary to provide dispatch services from the Ripon Police Department.
On Tuesday, the Ripon City Council will look to approve and authorize the purchase of radio tower equipment for the Channel 1 update.
This item and more will be part of the agenda for the 6 p.m. monthly session inside the Council Chambers, 259 N. Wilma Ave.
The Ripon Communications Center, along with Ripon police, handles dispatch services for both the Escalon Police Department and the Lathrop Police Department.
While Ripon and Escalon shared Channel 1 for radio communications – the outdated T-1 point-to-point link – Lathrop was monitored on a separate channel.
“Based on this set up, the Ripon Communications Center was monitoring two radio channels,” the staff report.
To further complicate matters, the T-1 connection between Ripon and Escalon was permanently disconnected by the provider, TPx Communications, which was moving away from the outdated technologies. Ripon police, unaware of that until two weeks prior to the disconnection, still needed to provide 911 emergency services, with no possibility of an extension from TPx Communications.
La Rue Communications stepped in to provide an additional channel in the Ripon Communication Center – Ripon, Escalon, and Lathrop communications were now on separate channels.
In September, La Rue Communications installed a converting analog to digital device, with hopes that Ripon and Escalon could go back to sharing Channel 1.
That device, local police noted, proved to be unreliable, randomly shutting down at various times while causing public safety issue due to not being able to communicate with Escalon.
La Rue Communications recommended the replacement / upgrade of equipment for the Ripon Communications Center’s radio Channel 1, with the cost not to exceed $119,304 – paid via the General Department Capital Fund.
The Escalon Police Department, in addition, will reimburse the City of Ripon for 50 percent of the cost ($7,531) for the Zetron hardware and software coupled with the cost of labor for the installation.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) announced this week that the County of Door would receive $3.9 million for the upgrade of its public safety radio system that assures all peninsula residents and visitors can contact emergency personnel when they need them.
The county is in the beginning stages of a full-system upgrade to its communication infrastructure that consists of 12 towers (four county-owned and eight co-located). The new upgrade will add eight towers (two co-locations and six new builds) to get appropriate coverage percentages per municipality, according to a Feb. 7 memo from Ashley DeGrave, Door County technology services project manager.
The project will be broken into three phases: land acquisition/site testing; civil/shelter/site work and tower construction; and FCC licensing acquisition and tower/radio equipment purchasing and implementation.
The total project cost for all three phases is estimated at $25,609,680.08. The county’s last full-system update was in 2013.
“Wisconsinites deserve to be safe in their communities, and I am proud to have secured nearly $4 million to help Door County update its public safety radio system – making it easier for public safety leaders to communicate, respond to emergencies, and protect our neighbors,” Baldwin said in a statement.
In total, Baldwin secured $211 million for projects in Wisconsin in the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2024 government funding package, seven of those, including Door County’s, in Northeast Wisconsin.
MONROE COUNTY, N.Y. — 911 calls in Monroe County were impacted for a little over half an hour Saturday morning due to the failure of a backup system during construction at the Route 390/Scottsville Road interchange.
Normal 911 functions had been restored as of 3 p.m., the county reported Saturday afternoon.
The county reported that at about 7:05 a.m., a Frontier Network redundant system failed to engage during a planned fiber cable disconnect for the construction. The Frontier re-route switch for the 911 calls should have activated once the disconnect happened, but it did not — and callers may have received a fast-busy signal from 7:05 to 7:40 a.m.
At 7:40 a.m., all 911 calls in Monroe County, including the city of Rochester, were re-routed to the 911 center in Livingston County and are now being handled by Ontario County. they transfer those calls to the Rochester/Monroe County Emergency Communications Center for dispatch. According to the county, calls can take a few minutes to be routed through this extra step, so callers were encouraged to stay on the line. According to the county, dispatch systems to emergency services were not impacted.
Crews from the county’s Department of Environmental Services worked with Frontier Communications to re-route the fiber circuit to re-establish the connection to the 911 Center. They also were both working with the county’s Information Services department to reestablish the backup network path.
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — When there’s an emergency in Durham, the city’s 911 center is typically the first to know, but if something were to happen to the communications center located on Main Street, officials need an official backup.
“We want to make sure that when that caller is dialing 911 and they need resources, that there’s someone there,” Durham Emergency Communications Center Director Randy Beeman said.
The City of Durham is required to have an official alternate routing partner for 911 calls, according to the NC 911 Board.
Beeman said the center has had an informal emergency backup relationship with the Raleigh-Wake Emergency Communications Center, but the City of Fayetteville is the best match for a formal partnership.
“The City of Fayetteville is naturally similar in size as we are,” he said. “Also from a radio operational standpoint, we have a great opportunity here with working with similar radio systems … we also have the same (CAD software). So, therefore, managing calls, taking the calls, processing the calls are very similar.”
There is no financial cost or impact to executing an interlocal agreement, according to Beeman.
He clarified to the City Council on Thursday that the need for a backup wasn’t because of a staffing issue.
“It is for when our center is incapacitated,” Beeman said, meaning they cannot receive calls nor can they dispatch. “Those are those rare circumstances. Staffing wise, we continue to move forward in our staffing.”
The City Council decided to revisit the item at the next council meeting.
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
