Aug 8, 2007
EMERGENCIES:
Regional dispatch gets $300,000 from feds
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A multi-town emergency dispatch center took one step closer to reality last month thanks to a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The center would set up a communications system linking emergency responders in Redding, Ridgefield, Weston and Wilton. The House passed a bill July 26 that includes $300,000 to centralize police, fire and EMS service dispatch in a state-of-the-art facility. The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies approved a $350,000 grant in a related bill.
Redding and Weston would see the most immediate benefit of the center, if approved. Redding Police Chief Douglas Fuchs said he and First Selectman Natalie Ketcham “are monitoring the progress and are very hopeful (of getting the grant).”
The new facility would operate at the former Gilbert & Bennett wire mill site and would combine fire and police dispatch for Redding and Weston. Wilton is also considering putting police and fire at the new facility. “We are seeking to develop an infrastructure whereby Redding, Ridgefield, Wilton and Weston would be linked through the Redding Police Department Communications Center,” Chief Fuchs said.
He said the long-term goal is to open a centralized dispatch center that would include emergency services from surrounding towns. He does not expect each town to centralize all police and fire at the center. Instead, the center would coordinate specific services, such as mutual aid, via the centralized system.
Ridgefield has yet to commit to using the center. It is one of several possibilities for the town’s emergency communications. Fire Chief Heather Burford, in previous interviews, spoke in favor of centralized dispatch for fire and EMS service. Police Chief Richard Ligi is against centralized dispatch, prefering to keep communications within town. First Selectman Rudy Marconi said Ridgefield would move only its fire dispatch to the center if it opens.
“The police have to have their own dispatch,” Mr. Marconi said. “They have been very clear about that.”
Each department currently handles its own dispatch. The proposed addition on Ridgefield police headquarters includes a new dispatch center that would combine fire and police in one room.
Chief Burford said regional dispatch is becoming popular in many areas of the country. “It allows communities to combine their resources,” she said. “We don’t have unlimited numbers and we rely on mutual aid. This would give us the ability to know all the different resource types we need.”
The grant requires Senate approval as well as that of a combined House-Senate conference. The conference would determine the amount of the grant the town would receive. The grant is also contingent on President Bush’s approval.
The House approved $300,000 July 26 “for the Greater Georgetown Interoperability Initiative to benefit the towns of Redding, Ridgefield, Weston and Wilton,” Congressman Christopher Shays (R-4th) said in a press release.
Mr. Shays said the centralized dispatch center would “provide vital enhancement to the existing network with new interoperable communications equipment to ensure the safety and well being of first responders and the public they serve. It represents a multi-jurisdictional approach to establishing long-term interoperability and public safety communications systems in the area.”
Chief Fuchs in Redding said the $300,000 grant would help achieve one of the first steps in creating centralized dispatch by linking radio systems “among or between responding emergency services. It would be a very initial first step.”
Mr. Marconi, in a previous interview, also stressed the centralized dispatch center is “right now, only part of a plan. If it gets built, it would be done so in phases.”
Chief Burford said regional dispatch is also simply “an idea we’re discussing. We have not committed to anything.”
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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