Emergency Preparedness

Regional Radio Communications System

Project Overview

In December 2006, the Tri-State Fire Mutual Aid came online with a new emergency communications system renamed Franklin County Emergency Communications System (FCECS).  The new system is an upgrade from the previous fire and emergency services low-band 3-channel VHF system to a 14-channel full duplex UHF system to serve all Franklin County Fire, Police and Emergency Medical Services.  All physical infrastructure upgrades were funded through the Western Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council.  The current system is owned by the FRCOG.  Users are assessed an annual user’s fee to fund system maintenance and operations.  An Oversight Committee, comprised of county representatives from Fire, Police, EMS, Dispatch, FRCOG and Tri-State Mutual Aid oversee the maintenance, continued system build-out and operations of the system.  FRCOG staff provides administrative and fiscal support to the Committee.

The FCECS was constructed with the capability to connect to and be compatible with the Western Mass Law Enforcement Council emergency radio communication system. This interoperable capability assures the system will serve the need of the region for a long time and is critical technology for cross-discipline communication in the event of mutual aid needs across regional systems.

Current Activities

Continued system build-out is currently under construction. A new antennae and repeater site is being built on top of Mt. Independent, Berkshire East Ski Area in Charlemont.  This new site will help to serve the western towns of the county and provide additional linkage to the emergency communications system of Berkshire County. A regional radio consultant hired by the Western Regional Homeland Security Advisory Council is assisting the Council in exploring further expansion sites and communication path ways to continue to link the FCECS with other regional communication systems, including Massachusetts State Police, to provide cross jurisdiction communication and backup in case of system failure. The radio equipment is maintained through an ongoing maintenance agreement which provides regular and emergency maintenance to all equipment.

Future Plans

Next steps for the system include continued operational review to determine areas of low or no coverage and to plan system build-out to address coverage needs for those areas. A maintenance contract is being drafted and will be procured to provide regular and emergency maintenance to site generators throughout the system.

Contact: Susan Brown

This page was last updated on 10/2/08 .

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