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W <br />ATTACHMENT #3: <br />Public Safety Communications Improvements Project Specifications <br />Backup Antennas: <br />Thee Orange County E911 /Communications Center maintains telephone, data and radio <br />communications with: <br />Caldwell Volunteer Fire District <br />Carrboro Fire Rescue <br />Carrboro Police <br />Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire District <br />Chapel. Hill Fire Department <br />Chapel Hill Police <br />Durham County EMS <br />Efland Volunteer Fire District <br />Eno Volunteer Fire District <br />Hillsborough Police <br />Mebane Fire Department <br />New Hope Volunteer Fire District <br />North Carolina Forestry <br />North Carolina Sate Highway Patrol <br />North Chatham County Fire <br />Orange Grove Volunteer Fire District <br />Orange Rural (Hillsborough) Fire District <br />South Orange Rescue Squad <br />UNC Public Safety <br />White Cross Volunteer Fire District <br />The center was designed as the replacement for the aging former center at 1914 New Hope <br />Church Road and contains only the basic components to maintain radio connectivity throughout <br />the area. In the event a mechanical or electronic malfunction occurs to the primary (only) <br />antennas, the center will lose communications with those areas and units affected by the <br />particular antenna that fails. The center is located at the same location as the County's <br />Emergency Operations Center and must remain operational in the event key figures are <br />relocated to the EOC to maintain governmental services during or after a disaster. The <br />antennas are one component that are vital to the continuity of operations. <br />Portable and Mobile Radios: <br />The basic communication component of the first responder is the portable ( "walkie- talkie ") <br />assigned to most field personnel. As a safety component, the portable is indispensable in <br />assuring the safety and welfare of the individual in the event he /she is threatened, enters a <br />hazardous area or requires immediate backup to mitigate a threat. Coupled with the mobile <br />radio installed in the police cruiser, fire truck, ambulance or command vehicle, the system <br />requires a complex matrix of channels, zones and frequencies to ensure all responders can <br />maintain interoperability. During emergency events the incident can quickly become chaotic <br />with many different agencies communicating with the E911 /Communoications <br />Telecommunicator coordinating the crosstalk by assigning various channels to the different <br />disciplines — police, fire, EMS. The system is software- driven requiring each portable and <br />mobile radio to be programmed to synchronize the dozens of frequency combinations /. <br />The initial programming enabled the system to "go -live" and use a review period of the initial <br />year to determine if any corrective frequency updating would be necessary. Following a <br />meeting with the users, reprogramming is necessary to ensure all zones, channels and <br />frequencies work together properly without interference. The orange mayday button will also be <br />included in the reprogramming process to allow first responders access to this critical <br />emergency feature. This action will allow firefighters and other first responders to activate the <br />