North County Fire Departments Get Clear Communications

By Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
11:10PM / Tuesday, July 20, 2010

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North Adams Fire Director Stephen Meranti explains how the radios work.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North County firefighters will be able to communicate better with the delivery of 121 state-of-the-art radios and chargers.

The $159,000 worth of equipment was purchased through a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant, which paid 90 percent of the cost; the departments picked up the balance of $15,900.

The North Adams department acted as the lead agency in the grant. Fire Director Stephen Meranti said the grant program allows departments to apply together, making a much larger group "that will get their attention."

"They're more apt to look at you as a group," he said. It made sense, he continued, because of the mutual aid relationships between the city and the smaller towns' volunteer companies, which includes that of Stamford, Vt. The group has applied for another grant for mobile communications and pagers; it's a regional approach that Mayor Richard Alcombright supports.

The boxed-up Motoral radios and chargers, billed as an intelligent, portable radio system, were handed out Monday afternoon to seven of the nine participating departments. Chiefs from Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Stamford and Williamstown gathered at the North Adams station for their radios; the chiefs from Savoy and New Ashford were unable to attend.

The radios allow for each department to continue to use their own channels but also to share a single channel during emergencies for better coordination.

Once programmed, the radios' digital displays will show not only the name of the department using the channel (rather than the frequency number) but also the radio's designation, such as "Truck 1." Firefighters will also be able to speak with police and an alarm button on the radio will signal the dispatcher that a firefighter is in distress. Meranti said the dispatcher won't know the location, but will be able to tell those on the scene which radio is sending the alarm.

Clarksburg Fire Chief Carlyle 'Chip' Chesbro grabs a box of radios.

The radios also boast long-lasting rechargeable batteries and multiple-base chargers.

The radios were purchased through John Ullrich of Pittsfield Communications Systems Inc. and the Cory Thurston of the Williamstown Fire Department did the research and recommendations. "The word is interoperability," said Thurston. "This is the first group in Berkshire County to have this type of interoperability. We believe there are other departments following suit."

While North Adams has had other grants for equipment, the smaller departments have been working with a mishmash of old and often outdated communicators. Florida Fire Chief Michael Bedini said his were from the 1970s and up.

"If it wasn't for a grant like this we wouldn't be able to afford a radio like this," said Clarksburg Chief Carlyle "Chip" Chesbro. "For us it's a godsend."

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