Governor Donald L. Carcieri today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded a $3 million grant to the State of Rhode Island to develop a standardized communication system for first-responders in Washington County. Washington County will be used as a model for radio interoperability for the rest of the country.
"This afternoon I am pleased to announce that Rhode Island is one of 17 communities across the nation to receive a grant from the United States Department of Homeland Security to develop a standardized communication system for first-responders in Washington County," said Governor Carcieri. "This 3 million dollar grant will create a seamless connection among all police and fire departments, emergency medical services and hospitals from North Kingstown to Westerly."
Senator Jack Reed, who wrote a letter in support of Rhode Island's application, stated, "In an emergency, communications networks remain one of the most powerful tools agencies have at their disposal to maintain the safety and well-being of first responders and the citizens they protect. In too many jurisdictions, police, fire and emergency medical services can't communicate with each other via radio when an emergency occurs. In a time of crisis the problem of interoperable communications is truly a life or death issue."
"The lack of communications infrastructure among first responders is a nationally recognized problem. Washington County Interoperable Communications Project, led by Chief David Smith of Narragansett Police, put together an outstanding proposal, and I am very pleased that it was one of seventeen projects selected nationwide. Implementation of this proposal will improve the collective ability of Washington County - which spans from North Kingstown to Westerly - first responders and medical staff to effectively handle emergency situations," said Senator Lincoln Chafee.
"The Washington County Interoperable Communications Project will create a communications network to provide radio and eventually data interoperability for all public safety agencies throughout the Washington County Area," said Congressman Jim Langevin, a member of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security who appealed to FEMA in support of the federal funds. "This project will ultimately allow police, fire, EMS and hospitals to communicate with each other in their own jurisdictions and with any of those entities in other jurisdictions throughout the Washington County area. This federal grant could not come at a better time as first responders in the Second Congressional District have identified communications technology as one of their three greatest weaknesses in a survey my office conducted over the summer."
The funding will improve Rhode Island's homeland security preparedness by enabling police, fire, medical and other services to better coordinate their response to emergencies, and would address three essential types of coordinated communications:
· Day to day: routine operations requiring backup from a neighboring department, or a vehicle chase that crosses state lines · Mutual aid: joint and immediate responses to large-scale incidents and natural disasters · Task force: collaborate efforts over an extended time period to address a particular problem
In a letter written last July to Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge, Governor Carcieri wrote: "...we have begun building an interoperable 800 mhz system that will eventually enable all first responders, including law enforcement, fire service, EMS service, emergency management, hospitals and several others to communicate with each other from the first call for help until the disaster is mitigated…The 800 mhz system will also allow Rhode Island's first responders to communicate across state borders with Connecticut and Massachusetts. The recent tragic nightclub fire in West Warwick demonstrated to us how important working with our neighboring states is. Connecticut provided many of the EMS resources we requested that night."