Schumer Announces FEMA Aid for Local Fire Departments

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer revealed Monday that he secured more $650,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide 71 Nassau County Fire Departments and Volunteer Ambulance Corps (VAC) with updated radio equipment in order to meet a looming federal radio mandate.

The mandate, set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2013, requires that all emergency communications equipment operate on a new frequency that current communications equipment does not support.

"This is a huge victory for Nassau fire departments that were set to get socked with huge fees to meet this federal mandate," Schumer said in a release. "Now, help is on the way – FEMA has agreed to pick up the tab, and Nassau taxpayers are spared the cost."

John Busching, chief of the Rockville Centre Fire Department, said the upgraded radio equipment will be used by the department's ambulances. He added that even though the department's current radio system did not have any problems, having the system upgraded for free saves the department money.

"It's saving us a few thousand dollars easy," Busching said. "It's around $3,000 a unit and we're getting a couple units. We would have had to buy everything ourselves. It's saving us a minimum of $6,000 out of our budget."

The Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), which operates the Emergency Ambulance Bureau through local fire departments and ambulance corps, had applied for the funding to meet the mandate. If they had not received it, the costs would have been passed on to what Schumer described as the already "over-burdened" fire departments – and then on to Nassau County taxpayers.

Schumer, in a press conference in Nassau County in January, and in a personal call to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, had urged the agency to support Nassau's application for the funding. The senator said that today's announcement was a huge victory for Nassau County and for those who risk their lives to protect local the county's residents.

As of January 1, 2013, the FCC will require that all emergency communications operate on a narrow-band frequency at 12.5 kHz efficiency. Currently, all medical communications between NCPD's Medical Control, the local fire departments and VAC's is conducted over a UHF frequency. According to Schumer, this antiquated system is plagued with static, interference and compatibility issues.

After Jan. 1, 2013, anyone not operating at the new frequency could be subject to fines.