Using portable setups of computers, radios, telephones and power sources, communications specialists gathered this week in the parking lot of DuPage County Homeland Security and Emergency Management offices to learn how better to handle natural disasters, large-scale events and terrorist attacks.
“Since there is no funding for pay for training, this event keeps the skills of communication professionals high,” said Joe Galvin, statewide interoperability coordinator for the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, who gave the keynote address. “Hands-on is the only way to learn.”
The three days of training will next be put to use on Nov. 8 when Illinois Transportable Emergency Communications Systems or ITECS will be used during the Naperville marathon. DuPage County will use the equipment to coordinate communications of more than 12 agencies and 100 police officers.
Attending the training were 30 supervisors, mechanical and computer technicians who brainstormed about how to overcome communications obstacles that often occur around emergency situations. They worked directly on four ITECS which serve as command hubs, connecting multiple agencies on the same radio frequencies.
The state has nine ITECS, each costing $400,000. They’ve been used during floods downstate and for such planned events as professional golf championships. Each suite contains two laptop computers, a satellite internet system, radios and repeaters, chargers and backup batteries, a multi-line telephone system, a 50-foot communications tower and a 10,000-watt diesel generator, according to Illinois Emergency Management Association.
Mike Wilson, who has operated the DuPage County ITECS for eight years, assisted in the training of newer communications personnel, demonstrating how the height and power advantage of the equipment can extend the wattage of a standard police radio from 5 watts to 45 watts, and its range from one mile up to six miles — vital during large-scale events.
“We’re really only as effective as our ability to communicate,” said Kent McKenzie, Lake County emergency management coordinator. He cited how cell phone systems became overloaded during Hurricane Sandy along the East Coast in October 2012 and how that can also happen to police radio systems. “We’re not inherently compatible with each other so it takes training to deploy those tools in the heat of the battle.”
Dan Casey,deputy director of public safety IT for the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications, also saw the value of the training.
“The radio is a huge part of the first responders’ equipment and being able to communicate is one of the core functions of their job,” Casey said. During the training, he discovered new alliances being formed between the city and suburban agencies, and.his staff also learned how to maintain and set up ITECS equipment.
“ITECS aren’t just trailers but a resource to build a communication network at the scene of an incident,” McKenzie said. “For an officer, the radio is truly a life or death tool more so than the firearm they carry.”
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Twitter: @TribLocal
