Conferees must keep funds to make first responders' radios compatible

By Senator Dianne Feinstein
Ventura County Star

On Sept. 11, 2001, a message was broadcast over New York Police Department radios warning that the World Trade Center was about to collapse. Police officers got the message. Firefighters did not, simply because the Fire Department used different radios than the Police Department.

This failure, it has been reported, is partly responsible for the loss of at least some of the 343 firefighters who died that day.

In all too many jurisdictions, police, fire and emergency medical service personnel can't communicate with each other over the radio when an emergency occurs. This means slower response times, less coordination between agencies and lives lost.

To help remedy this problem, I sponsored an amendment to the emergency spending bill being finalized by a House-Senate conference committee, which provides $219 million to improve the compatibility of first responders' communications systems. Half of this funding would go to police departments and half would go to fire and emergency departments.

Despite the fact the Senate overwhelmingly approved this measure, I fear that it may be stripped out of the bill before it reaches the president for his signature. In my view, this would be a terrible mistake.

There are about 2.5 million public safety first responders who operate in the United States today, stationed in some 18,000 law enforcement agencies, 26,000 fire departments and 6,000 rescue departments.

Historically, these departments have purchased and used their own radio systems, even though those systems are frequently incompatible with the systems of other agencies with whom they work.

As a result, law enforcement, firefighters and EMS teams can't communicate over the radio when it matters most. This was also the case during the Columbine massacre and following the Oklahoma City bombing.

Officials in these instances had to resort to the use of "runners" to carry messages from one command center to another. Precious minutes were lost and lives were threatened because the departments couldn't communicate over the radio.

If such confusion is to be prevented during the next terrorist attack or major emergency, local jurisdictions need additional funding for new communications systems. In fact, when I speak to local fire and law enforcement officials, they tell me that obtaining compatible communications systems is their No. 1 homeland security priority.

Up to this point, Congress has not done an adequate job of resolving this problem. The spending bill for the current fiscal year, for instance, contains $45 million in dedicated money for communications, but only $12 million of this is likely to go directly to first responders.

This is why the funding in the emergency spending bill is so important; it would go directly to the departments that need it most, and it would help correct this problem almost immediately.

Smaller jurisdictions would be able to purchase new, interoperable systems with the money available.

Larger jurisdictions would be able to seek relatively inexpensive technological solutions to make their complex communications systems compatible.

Cities and counties could use this money, for example, to purchase a system called the ACU-1000, which converts different radio frequencies into a fully compatible network.

This device, which is also available in a mobile version called the "First Responder Vehicle," allows first responders using different communications systems to form a more effective and efficient disaster relief team.

Consequently, Los Angeles would be able to meet its communications needs with four of these vehicles at a cost of $1.2 million, instead of obtaining entirely new systems, which could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

As America continues to confront the threat of terrorism, it will be increasingly important to give our law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel the tools they need to respond to a possible terrorist attack effectively and safely.

Therefore, as House and Senate negotiators consider which provisions to include in the final emergency spending package, I strongly urge them to maintain the commitment to our first responders.

This will allow fire, police and emergency medical services personnel to better communicate in times of crisis and will ultimately help save lives.

-- Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, represents California in the U.S. Senate.