Communications system upgraded (Aug. 1, 2000)

The Department has received permission from the Township Committee and Police Department to utilize the tactical repeater for emergency responses.  This will enable incident commanders to radio instructions to responding units.

The distance and terrain of Washington Township make communications extremely difficult, particularly from the portable radios often used by fire officers. While other agencies in the Township such as police, DPW, & Board of Education use "repeated" radios, the fire department has had to rely on a "line-of-sight" system. This has resulted in ineffective communication whereby:

Responding apparatus and fire fighters are unable to hear critical initial reports and instructions from the on scene Incident Commander, due to the expansiveness and mountainous terrain of the Township.
Responding apparatus, unable to hear the on scene Incident Commander transmitting orders, may unintentionally transmit at the same time, causing blocked communications.
Missed communications may result in confusion and delays during the fire fighting efforts with a resulting potential risk to fire fighters and potential trapped victims.
Additional page alerts interrupt or delay crucial voice communication.

Thanks to this agreement, a repeaterized system already in place will now be used for all initial response communication in place of the fire dispatch channel. A repeater is another radio unit, usually placed in an optimal location such as on a tall building, that can receive and transmit a greater distance than mobile or portable radios. The repeater receives a transmission on one frequency, then transmits it back on another, thereby giving the portable or mobile unit the effect of a base station. This is most useful for wide area coverage or where lower power or portable radios are not able to communicate due to other land or building obstructions.

This no-cost solution will allow the department to continue to use the fire dispatch channel for alerting/paging, while conducting voice communication between responding units on the repeater channel. Current WTFD pagers are already equipped with the Tactical Repeater channel, permitting responding fire fighters to clearly hear the Incident Commander’s orders and initial reports. Once on scene, all communication at the incident will be conducted on one of the existing fireground frequencies. The repeater channel will also continue to be used for special police operations, and will be used on a shared basis. Usage of the channel will be monitored for optimal effectiveness.

The Township Committee has directed the communications officers to pursue the feasibility of construction of an additional repeater system to be used by both the Fire Department and First Aid Squad should communications demands exceed the capacity of the Tactical channel. Our thanks to the W.T.P.D. and the police and fire commissioners for their assistance and cooperation in resolving emergency communications deficiencies.