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Wayne getting high-tech emergency radio system
Saturday, May 31, 2008
BY ANDREA ALEXANDERSTAFF WRITER
The Bergen Record
WAYNE — A devastating flood and smoke bombs planted in a high school locker have shown the township that it can't rely on its current emergency communications system.
Before the next catastrophe hits, the officials decided to invest in a new $9.1 million digital radio system. As such, the township is joining the ranks of several other agencies around the region, including Bergen and Passaic County authorities, in projects to modernize communications.
The Township Council recently voted to award a contract to M\A Com, a part of Tyco Electronics, for a new digital communications system. The system is supposed to provide greater coverage and allow different public-safety units to communicate with one another in the 27-square-mile township of 55,000 people.
Meanwhile, Bergen County has entered into a contract with Motorola to design and build a digital system. The Bergen County Sheriff's Department and Prosecutor's Office will use the new system, and municipal governments also can subscribe to the service, said Mabel Aragon, a county spokeswoman. Bergen County's new system is expected to cost $16 million to $18 million and be completed by next year.
Problems with Wayne's system have grown more apparent over time. During a major flood in April 2007, police couldn't contact officers in rescue boats to direct them in evacuations. And last year when five Wayne Valley High School students allegedly planted two smoke bombs in lockers, Deputy Police Chief John Reardon said he couldn't communicate with the officers first on the scene — before they knew what they were facing.
"I had to go inside the school and find them,'' Reardon said. "In times of greatest need, when things get busy it's inadequate.''
The existing analog system sometimes sounds garbled or doesn't work at all. The system also has capacity problems, and first responders sometimes have to wait to get airtime, said Lt. Wayne Lougheed, who oversees communications for the Police Department.
"You want your radios to work the first time and not have to be concerned if you can use it,'' Lougheed said.
The current system has one transmitter on top of the Jackson Avenue water tank. Sometimes the signals can't make it through the hills and valleys of the township. The new system will have four transmission sites around the township to increase coverage, said Sandy Galacio, Wayne's emergency management coordinator.
The new radios should be working in about 18 months and will replace a system with parts that are nearly 30 years old and have deteriorated over time.
The township is building a system that is similar to communications used by the state police, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and New York City police, who switched to a digital system after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Galacio.
Bergen County received some federal grant money and is applying for additional funds. Wayne also is seeking grant money to offset the cost of its project, Mayor Christopher Vergano said.
The township bonded $3 million last year for the first phase of the project and plans to approve the rest of the financing by early next year.
Vergano acknowledged the price of the new system is steep, but added, "We have an obligation to protect our police, fire and first aid squad.''
And the cost was dictated by other factors in the township.
"The price is more than we like to spend but because of the size and terrain [of the township] this is the system that is needed,'' Vergano said.
The cost of the project covers new in-car and portable radios for police, a new police dispatch center and the necessary infrastructure.
"If you are a firefighter in a building fighting a fire, or you are a police officer at an armed robbery you need to hit the button and be heard,'' Galacio said. "And if you are the public, you want your emergency services to be able to get to you.''
Saturday, May 31, 2008
BY ANDREA ALEXANDERSTAFF WRITER
The Bergen Record
WAYNE — A devastating flood and smoke bombs planted in a high school locker have shown the township that it can't rely on its current emergency communications system.
Before the next catastrophe hits, the officials decided to invest in a new $9.1 million digital radio system. As such, the township is joining the ranks of several other agencies around the region, including Bergen and Passaic County authorities, in projects to modernize communications.
The Township Council recently voted to award a contract to M\A Com, a part of Tyco Electronics, for a new digital communications system. The system is supposed to provide greater coverage and allow different public-safety units to communicate with one another in the 27-square-mile township of 55,000 people.
Meanwhile, Bergen County has entered into a contract with Motorola to design and build a digital system. The Bergen County Sheriff's Department and Prosecutor's Office will use the new system, and municipal governments also can subscribe to the service, said Mabel Aragon, a county spokeswoman. Bergen County's new system is expected to cost $16 million to $18 million and be completed by next year.
Problems with Wayne's system have grown more apparent over time. During a major flood in April 2007, police couldn't contact officers in rescue boats to direct them in evacuations. And last year when five Wayne Valley High School students allegedly planted two smoke bombs in lockers, Deputy Police Chief John Reardon said he couldn't communicate with the officers first on the scene — before they knew what they were facing.
"I had to go inside the school and find them,'' Reardon said. "In times of greatest need, when things get busy it's inadequate.''
The existing analog system sometimes sounds garbled or doesn't work at all. The system also has capacity problems, and first responders sometimes have to wait to get airtime, said Lt. Wayne Lougheed, who oversees communications for the Police Department.
"You want your radios to work the first time and not have to be concerned if you can use it,'' Lougheed said.
The current system has one transmitter on top of the Jackson Avenue water tank. Sometimes the signals can't make it through the hills and valleys of the township. The new system will have four transmission sites around the township to increase coverage, said Sandy Galacio, Wayne's emergency management coordinator.
The new radios should be working in about 18 months and will replace a system with parts that are nearly 30 years old and have deteriorated over time.
The township is building a system that is similar to communications used by the state police, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and New York City police, who switched to a digital system after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Galacio.
Bergen County received some federal grant money and is applying for additional funds. Wayne also is seeking grant money to offset the cost of its project, Mayor Christopher Vergano said.
The township bonded $3 million last year for the first phase of the project and plans to approve the rest of the financing by early next year.
Vergano acknowledged the price of the new system is steep, but added, "We have an obligation to protect our police, fire and first aid squad.''
And the cost was dictated by other factors in the township.
"The price is more than we like to spend but because of the size and terrain [of the township] this is the system that is needed,'' Vergano said.
The cost of the project covers new in-car and portable radios for police, a new police dispatch center and the necessary infrastructure.
"If you are a firefighter in a building fighting a fire, or you are a police officer at an armed robbery you need to hit the button and be heard,'' Galacio said. "And if you are the public, you want your emergency services to be able to get to you.''