Post by dave3825us on Mar 20, 2009 0:39:34 GMT -5
www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-lihunt2012566019mar20,0,6113331.story
The next time an emergency strikes in the Town of Huntington, local officials and first responders will have access to a communications system linking them via phone or radio.
The system connects the town's communication networks and allows images from surveillance cameras around town to be viewed at the operations center.
"This is the pulse or nucleus of how we will operate and make policy decisions during times of need," Supervisor Frank Petrone said as he presented the new system, which the town purchased from Mutualink, a company based in Wallingford, Conn. "It could be a technological type of emergency, a major power failure or a natural disaster like a hurricane."
Right now the system, at the new Emergency Operations Center on Pulaski Road in Huntington Station, connects town hall and the town's public safety and general services departments through phone, radio or both. Officials said they hope fire companies and hospitals will eventually be added.
The facility has work stations with Internet access, large-screen monitors, fire-band radios, county-issued satellite phones, a cell phone link to the radio system and trunk scanners to monitor all frequencies used by emergency agencies.
"This system will coordinate all of the assets, whether radio, document files or video systems, from any portion of the community and bring them together," said Jeff Doran, project manager for Mutualink. "So no matter where you sit in the circle of incident, you have access and can use everybody else's asset."
Petrone said the $150,000 facility and equipment were funded with money collected from parking violation fees as well as from the town's capital and operating budgets. He said the facility will also be used for training.
The center is located in a former locker room inside the town's general services maintenance building and includes a kitchen and sleeping accommodations for 10 people.
"This is terrific," said Larry Cavanagh, president of the Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs Council. "The whole facility will be a benefit, not only for the fire community, but the community and town as a whole as far as working together in emergency situations."
The next time an emergency strikes in the Town of Huntington, local officials and first responders will have access to a communications system linking them via phone or radio.
The system connects the town's communication networks and allows images from surveillance cameras around town to be viewed at the operations center.
"This is the pulse or nucleus of how we will operate and make policy decisions during times of need," Supervisor Frank Petrone said as he presented the new system, which the town purchased from Mutualink, a company based in Wallingford, Conn. "It could be a technological type of emergency, a major power failure or a natural disaster like a hurricane."
Right now the system, at the new Emergency Operations Center on Pulaski Road in Huntington Station, connects town hall and the town's public safety and general services departments through phone, radio or both. Officials said they hope fire companies and hospitals will eventually be added.
The facility has work stations with Internet access, large-screen monitors, fire-band radios, county-issued satellite phones, a cell phone link to the radio system and trunk scanners to monitor all frequencies used by emergency agencies.
"This system will coordinate all of the assets, whether radio, document files or video systems, from any portion of the community and bring them together," said Jeff Doran, project manager for Mutualink. "So no matter where you sit in the circle of incident, you have access and can use everybody else's asset."
Petrone said the $150,000 facility and equipment were funded with money collected from parking violation fees as well as from the town's capital and operating budgets. He said the facility will also be used for training.
The center is located in a former locker room inside the town's general services maintenance building and includes a kitchen and sleeping accommodations for 10 people.
"This is terrific," said Larry Cavanagh, president of the Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs Council. "The whole facility will be a benefit, not only for the fire community, but the community and town as a whole as far as working together in emergency situations."
