Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Monday, September 25, 2006
Johnstown, PA
One special piece of equipment that stood out was the mobile communications unit created for the Johnstown Fire Department with FIRE Act funding. It serves as the focal point for all communications and interoperability issues in the region. It can set up a satellite downlink service for data receipt and transmission. It can allow communications between units from different organizations and band spectrums. This vehicle has the capability of creating a satellite voice communications network and serves as a wireless Internet hot spot for other units on scene.
It should be noted that this unit was created in-house using a FIRE Act grant of approximately $65,000. A commercially-produced unit would have cost approximately $450,000. It is equipment such as this which multiplies the impact of the FIRE Act funding over their entire region. This was a combination of funding and good-old Yankee ingenuity.
