I just read this in the Sun-Sentinel, and was wondering if anyone had more info on this.
Grant allows Pines to link radio systems
By Nicole T. Lesson
Staff Writer
Posted March 2 2005
Public safety radio systems soon will be hooked up to each other so emergency service workers can more easily communicate.
Through a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the Pembroke Pines Fire Department will get the technology to link the city to any other radio system used by local and state emergency agencies without having to replace local systems.
City commissioners recently approved an agreement with the state to install the equipment.
The city's Fire Department dispatches its own calls, so it qualified for the statewide Voice Over Internet Protocol Network. The network will connect all participating public safety radio systems through the state's telecommunication network, known as the SUNCOM intranet network.
In Pembroke Pines, all 911 calls are first handled by the Broward Sheriff's Office, a primary public safety answering point, and if the call is a fire or medical emergency it is transferred to the city's dispatch center.
The technology paid for by the homeland security grant also will benefit the Sheriff's Office, which provides police and/or fire services in Weston, Southwest Ranches, Cooper City, Dania Beach, the Pembroke Park area and other municipalities north of Interstate 595. The Sheriff's Office also provides dispatch services for several cities in Broward County. In addition, the grant will allow five other Broward cities -- Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Margate, Coral Springs and Coconut Creek -- and the state Division of Forestry to join the new communication network, which is expected to be fully operational by June 30, according to the state plan.
"This will bring together all the separate public safety radio systems and provide a common platform to communicate," said Tom Gallagher, Pembroke Pines' 911 communications director. "There [now] is not one way to communicate with all the … radio bands and channels. There is not one current single platform."
The new link will be available if one police, fire or emergency rescue department needs to get in touch with another emergency provider in the next city or anywhere across the state.
"In Pines, the Fire Department could utilize their radio to communicate with someone in another part of the state on their radio system," Gallagher said. If large-scale emergencies occur and rescuers need to be brought in from outside the area, he said, "everyone around the state can monitor a common radio frequency to be aware of the incidents as they unfold."
A T-1 line -- a high-speed Internet connection -- will be necessary to create the network, and Motorola has been selected by the state to provide equipment and do the installation work at all sites in Florida.
The federal grant provides almost $26 million to do the work over two years.
There are about 250 dispatch centers in the state, and 193 have signed up for the project, according to Linda Fuchs, project manager for the State Technology Office.
"Others are in the works," she said.
In explaining the network, Fuchs said that if two people are talking different languages or on different radio systems, the new technology would allow information to be understood by the other side.
"The network takes those people talking in different languages, and each side hears the language they understand," she said.
Fuchs said that as things now stand, police and fire personnel typically work together at accidents and other emergencies, but they can be using different radio systems.
"At this point, dispatch may have to relay messages, or the fire chief may have to swap radios to hear what the police are saying and vice versa," she said.
The new network was used in Jacksonville during the Super Bowl last month and was successful, Fuchs said.
A second part of the grant will be used to set up mutual aid channels throughout the state. These channels provide radio services to rescuers who respond to emergencies outside the range of their local radio system, or when they need to communicate with those not on their local system. The state plans to complete the work by June 2006.
Grant allows Pines to link radio systems
By Nicole T. Lesson
Staff Writer
Posted March 2 2005
Public safety radio systems soon will be hooked up to each other so emergency service workers can more easily communicate.
Through a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the Pembroke Pines Fire Department will get the technology to link the city to any other radio system used by local and state emergency agencies without having to replace local systems.
City commissioners recently approved an agreement with the state to install the equipment.
The city's Fire Department dispatches its own calls, so it qualified for the statewide Voice Over Internet Protocol Network. The network will connect all participating public safety radio systems through the state's telecommunication network, known as the SUNCOM intranet network.
In Pembroke Pines, all 911 calls are first handled by the Broward Sheriff's Office, a primary public safety answering point, and if the call is a fire or medical emergency it is transferred to the city's dispatch center.
The technology paid for by the homeland security grant also will benefit the Sheriff's Office, which provides police and/or fire services in Weston, Southwest Ranches, Cooper City, Dania Beach, the Pembroke Park area and other municipalities north of Interstate 595. The Sheriff's Office also provides dispatch services for several cities in Broward County. In addition, the grant will allow five other Broward cities -- Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Margate, Coral Springs and Coconut Creek -- and the state Division of Forestry to join the new communication network, which is expected to be fully operational by June 30, according to the state plan.
"This will bring together all the separate public safety radio systems and provide a common platform to communicate," said Tom Gallagher, Pembroke Pines' 911 communications director. "There [now] is not one way to communicate with all the … radio bands and channels. There is not one current single platform."
The new link will be available if one police, fire or emergency rescue department needs to get in touch with another emergency provider in the next city or anywhere across the state.
"In Pines, the Fire Department could utilize their radio to communicate with someone in another part of the state on their radio system," Gallagher said. If large-scale emergencies occur and rescuers need to be brought in from outside the area, he said, "everyone around the state can monitor a common radio frequency to be aware of the incidents as they unfold."
A T-1 line -- a high-speed Internet connection -- will be necessary to create the network, and Motorola has been selected by the state to provide equipment and do the installation work at all sites in Florida.
The federal grant provides almost $26 million to do the work over two years.
There are about 250 dispatch centers in the state, and 193 have signed up for the project, according to Linda Fuchs, project manager for the State Technology Office.
"Others are in the works," she said.
In explaining the network, Fuchs said that if two people are talking different languages or on different radio systems, the new technology would allow information to be understood by the other side.
"The network takes those people talking in different languages, and each side hears the language they understand," she said.
Fuchs said that as things now stand, police and fire personnel typically work together at accidents and other emergencies, but they can be using different radio systems.
"At this point, dispatch may have to relay messages, or the fire chief may have to swap radios to hear what the police are saying and vice versa," she said.
The new network was used in Jacksonville during the Super Bowl last month and was successful, Fuchs said.
A second part of the grant will be used to set up mutual aid channels throughout the state. These channels provide radio services to rescuers who respond to emergencies outside the range of their local radio system, or when they need to communicate with those not on their local system. The state plans to complete the work by June 2006.
