A matter of perspective
Acrusty old journalist once told me that the absolute best place for reporters to hang out is a bar. Given the often well-lubed condition of a good many bar patrons, all kinds of information comes tumbling out, if you give it enough time. I have written many a story off notes scribbled on stacks of cocktail napkins. I now, as standard operating procedure, carry a small notebook anytime I think I might end up in a bar.
Such an event occurred during the National Emergency Number Association conference held in Pittsburgh in June. As luck would have it, I sat next to Cris Spiegel, the communications officer for a rural volunteer fire department in northern Illinois. I had never met Spiegel, but found his story so compelling that I invited him to participate in this edition’s cover story, which provides a snapshot of the current state of public-safety communications nationwide, as seen through the eyes of the people charged with operating and maintaining those systems.
In this job, we focus a lot on the future and give most of our attention to the radio communications public safety typically doesn’t have — e.g., interoperability and advanced mobile data applications — that would make first responders safer and more effective. I thought about that as I listened to Spiegel describe his department’s communications system, which consists of eight high-band UHF analog radios shared by 32 individuals. This Spartan system actually is a quantum leap forward from what they used to have, which was … nothing. As little as five years ago, at-the-scene communications were accomplished via runners or by simply yelling to each other.
Equally compelling was Spiegel’s description of the department’s efforts to obtain federal and state grants. They enlisted the aid of a junior-high teacher who knows his way around the process, having authored several applications for special-education funding. According to Spiegel, having a legitimate need isn’t enough to qualify for a communications grant — one must also “tell them what they want to hear … in language they can understand.” I have heard the same said by public-safety officials frustrated by the application process for interoperability grants.
This is wrong. First responders are dedicated individuals who put their lives on the line every day. I think it safely can be argued that volunteers are the most dedicated among them. They come from all walks of life — Spiegel is a master technician for Chrysler — and drop what they’re doing at all hours of the day and night to come to the aid of others. Governments at the federal and state levels should make it easier for them to get the money they need.
