CARMEL, N.Y. - A $13 million county project to upgrade radio communications between first responders is underway and local law enforcement along with fire departments throughout Putnam are excited to see it finally come to fruition.
On Wednesday, March 26, County Executive Kevin Byrne co-hosted an informational session at the Bureau of Emergency Services (BES) auditorium for multiple first-responder agencies and elected officials to answer questions related to the county’s ongoing fire, police, and EMS digital radio expansion.
The public safety upgrade aims to enhance communications and interoperability among first responders, ensuring they have access to a modern and reliable emergency radio system. Older iterations of the radio system required participating agencies to manually switch between frequencies, potentially reducing response times. When complete, the radio expansion will ensure that 100 percent of first-responder communications cover the county, filling coverage gaps and providing a seamless and modern network for emergency correspondence.
The project began with a critical upgrade to the county’s beamed-radio-wave communication system, which was fully funded by a New York Statewide Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant (SICG). Putnam County allocated an additional $3.2 million investment from various sources to further support the initiative. The remainder of the project has been covered through annual formula-based SICG grants, ensuring that it remains fiscally responsible.
“Putnam County has embarked on a plan to extend access to radio operations to every first responder within our borders,” Byrne said. “Think of it as a secure hotline for every firefighter, police officer, and EMS personnel who wants it. This system will fill gaps in coverage and provide a seamless and modern network for emergency communications.”
While the initiative has not yet been completely rolled out, law enforcement agencies throughout the county have begun using it.
“It is a significant improvement,” said Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville. We did extensive testing through Motorola. It brings an increase in safety for [police] officers, fire personnel and residents. Before, you would get a lot of static. The older system was without a lot of antennas. Terrain was a bit of an issue. We had a lot of dead spots, and this [new system] eliminates them. It is just a huge improvement.”
McConville said the new system also allows dispatchers to see where the patrol cars are located and send the closet vehicle to the incident.
Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffmann said his department had just started using the system, but not at 100 percent.
“We still have some agreements that need to be worked out with Westchester,” he said. But so far it’s working out pretty well. It’s living up to its promise. It’s a digital system, so the voices seem more computerized, so you have to tune your ear to it.”
Mahopac Fire Chief Gabe Rivera said most of the fire departments throughout the county have not yet started with the new system.
“It’s still in the infancy stage of deployment for us,” he said. “The county presented us with a plan, but it was lacking information and had other questions from the past that were not answered.”
Rivera said he spoke at a public hearing where county officials presented their plan.
“I still had some reservations about its operability with neighboring counties. We continue to go inro Westchester County on mutual aid and there are different technologies between the counties. But this new system brings us a level playing field. But it is pending approval from Westchester, Dutchess and Orange counties, and Danbury. There are still some hoops to get through for all the approvals.
“We knew it was going to be complicated, but the county didn’t address this portion of the project until recently,” he continued. “We wants it done correctly the first time so we can build and grow from there.”
Nonetheless, Rivera said he is excited about the new system and can’t wait to start using it.
“Better communication outside the county is what we need,” he said. “We have been lagging behind other countries. We are on the cusp of getting on par. There will be some growing pains. We will have to do some customizations for us, and then we will be in a better place.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here