The city recently received a $273,000 federal grant.
 
By Ismail Turay Jr.
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Copyright 2007 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.

FAIRBORN, Ohio — Emergency workers from different agencies and municipalities responding to the same crisis are often frustrated because they are unable to communicate.

But a $273,000 Department of Homeland Security grant recently awarded to the city of Fairborn will help purchase a device that will allow everyone to communicate when they respond to emergencies, said Division Chief Sam Andes of the Fairborn Fire Department.

"It's really about disaster preparedness," Andes said.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant will fund 80 percent - $272,681 - of the $341,078 cost of the Raytheon/ Catalyst Interoperability Gateway.

A condition of the grant is that Fairborn pay the remaining 20 percent of the project, officials said.

Raytheon/Catalyst Interoperability Gateway will allow emergency workers, including law enforcement and fire personnel, to work closely together and communicate effectively to mitigate any emergency without the communication complications that tend to hinder operations.

In short, it will allow dissimilar brands and models of radios with different technology and bandwidth to communicate on the same frequency, Andes said.

The system also will make possible communications between every department within the city and municipalities in the region.

"It's just a matter of creating a template and programming their communications frequencies and data in the system," Andes said.

There's no limit to the number of radio data that can be added to the system, he said.

The Beavercreek Twp. Fire Department was the first in the state to install the system, and Fairborn got on board two years ago.

With the exception of Springfield, which is installing the system, no other city in the region has it, Andes said.

The system will be fully operational within nine months, he said.