New $34M emergency radio system in works in county
A hybrid emergency radio system planned for Dane County would enable separate units such as fire departments, police departments, EMS units and highway snowplow operators stay in constant touch with one another instead of having to go through "channels."
The $34 million project to construct the new radio system and replace the computer-aided communications system at the 911 center is the second most expensive capital project in the county's history, the most expensive being the $44 million courthouse.
County Executive Kathleen Falk, Sheriff Dave Mahoney and representatives of the county's fire and EMS departments announced the radio project at a press conference Wednesday.
"This new system means our firefighters, police officers and deputies, emergency medical technicians, snowplow operators and even school officials will be able to talk to each other with the flip of a switch," Falk said. "Front line responders said they needed this system, so we are committed to building it."
Falk spokesman Joshua Westcott told The Capital Times the hybrid radio system will literally be built from the ground up.
"It will include everything, from transmitters and receivers to the dishes and cables," Westcott said.
Because Dane County has both rural and urban areas, big lakes and hills, the Wisconsin River at one corner and the isthmus across the middle, the unique landscape called for a unique solution.
"To do it the way the front-line people want it to work, we need to build a hybrid system," Westcott said.
Requests for proposals to construct the new radio system went out Wednesday. Contractors will have until Sept. 11 to submit proposals, with construction of the new system to begin within two years.
Sept. 11, the Stoughton tornado and the massive interstate traffic jam during a blizzard in February were prime reasons showing how much an all-encompassing communications system was needed.
"The ability of front-line responders to be able to effectively communicate with each other was one of the lessons learned from the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001," Falk said. "In Dane County, we saw this firsthand during the 2005 Stoughton tornado and again with the state-led response to the February backup on the interstate."
Westcott said the radio system would be so precise that first-in crews would be able to talk to each other on one of the system's radio bands.
"A search team in a tornado could be assigned to one channel so they could talk to each other," he said.
The new radio system will cost $30 million, while the 911 center's computer-aided dispatch upgrade would cost $4 million. The computer-aided dispatch system gives location coordinates when calls come in, plus additional information related to a specific 911 call, and then it's sent out to emergency responders from the 911 center.
File photo
County officials cite the February traffic pileup on the interstate as a reason why the new system is needed.
