By Doug La Rocque
On July 13, State Senator Kathy Marchione, Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino and leaders of the Rensselaer Fire and EMS Community gathered at the new Defreestville Fire Station to formally announce the awarding of the $750,000 NYS grant for [private]the purchase of 1,940 new Minitor VI pagers for every fire company and ambulance service throughout the County. Senator Marchione says “the new pagers will enhance response times, coordination, communication and assist Rensselaer County first responders in saving lives.” The grant is the final piece of funding needed to complete the more than 20-million-dollar investment by the County to replace the majority of the communications systems.
This includes new portable and vehicle based radios, home alerting and dispatch center equipment. The project also includes enhancing signal coverage throughout the County with the addition of new tower sites. Rensselaer County Deputy County Executive Chris Meyer tells The Eastwick Press two areas of particular concern were the Tsatsawassa and Buskirk areas, where new towers are being placed. The County has also increased the height of the main tower at the 911 dispatch center at the Rensselaer County Corrections Facility by another 15 feet to accommodate the new radio system. No Cost to Local Emergency Services The grant is a response to a request first voiced by the Speigletown Fire Department and the Town of Schodack’s Chief’s Association last fall. It means that all the upgrades will come at no cost to the local first response agencies. The county is currently revamping its entire dispatch center to include a new room with the most modern up to date equipment, and a completely new radio system that is based on a street level portable system that provides 98% coverage countywide. The move also upgrades to digital versus analog communication, and is law enforcement grade. Beside the radio system, the county is also installing a new phone system and computer aid dispatching capabilities that tie in with the new home alert pagers. The revamp also includes a partnership with Albany and Saratoga counties. Meyer says “theoretically, if we were to lose our phone system, Albany and Saratoga Counties could help take on our phone volume.” This also includes the TTY system for the hearing impaired. Rensselaer County Emergency Services Coordinator Kelly Paslow said they are also working on a system that would allow the radio users in the three counties to switch to each other’s frequencies, thus allowing better communications in times when multi county cooperation is needed. Meyer said their goal is to have the new radio system operational by the end of the year, with the new dispatch center and other portions of the upgrade to follow. Another improvement is the establishment of a fully functional back up facility at the State Police Headquarters in Latham. Rensselaer County is the first in the state to have such an agreement. Of special note to those in the eastern part of the county, Paslow said such agencies as Cambridge Valley Rescue in Washington County and the Bennington Rescue Squad in Vermont, will also be part of the upgrade for the times they are called upon to provide mutual aid services.[/private]