April, 2005   The Milliwatt   < Prev Page 6 Next >

Emergency Network to Cover Central MD

by Laura Barndhart
During the Howard Street Tunnel fire, firefighters from the city and Baltimore County had to exchange radios to talk to one another as they battled the underground inferno. After a tanker truck flipped off an I-95 overpass last year and exploded, some emergency officials used cell phones to get instructions. And during the 92-vehible pile-up in October on Interstate 95, some emergency workers relied on 911 dispatchers to communicate with others on the scene because there was no emergency communications network, authorities said. Yesterday, officials from the city, Baltimore , Howard , Harford, Carroll, and Anne Arundel counties unveiled what they hope will be a solution to the problem, the Central Maryland Area Radio Communications system. Known as CMARC, the network includes five channels that are accessible to any emergency \worker using an 800-megahertz radio , officials said. It doesn't matter what uniform you're wearing said Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, Jr. who is newly elected chairman of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council which oversaw the project. "It's going to make a huge difference. The people who need help will get it faster," The system will initially cover the city and areas within the Baltimore Beltway, around Baltimore Washington International Airport and along Interstate 95, said Ernie Crist, manager of emergency services for Harford County, who led the team of officials working on the CMARC project. Crist tested the system in an afternoon news conference at M&T Bank Stadium, showing that antennas in the city and Baltimore and Howard Counties were working., The $700,000 cost of installing the eight antennas and buying 284 radios for distribution in Annapolis, Baltimore city, Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties was covered by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant, officials said. All of the county and city agencies have some 800-megahertz radios already , Crist said. Some departments, including Baltimore County's police and fire departments will have to reprogram their radios to use the new network , but incident commanders and emergency responders close to the county's borders \have CMARC-compatible radios. An additional 20 to 30 antennas and towers will begin to be installed this summer. The $5 million cost will be funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice, he said. (Thanks, KA3CEA)

Regional Interservice (RINS)
Frequency Input Type Tone Description
868.51250 823.51250 RM 156.7 PL RINS 1
866.83750 821.83750 RM 156.7 PL RINS 2
867.23750 822.23750 RM 156.7 PL RINS 3
867.48750 822.48750 RM 156.7 PL RINS 4
866.86250 821.86250 RM 156.7 PL RINS 5
867.76250 822.76250 RM 156.7 PL RINS 6
Public Safety Interoperability
Frequency Input Type Tone Description
866.01250 821.01250 RM 156.7 PL I-CALL
866.51250 821.51250 RM 156.7 PL I-TAC 1
867.01250 822.01250 RM 156.7 PL I-TAC 2
867.51250 822.512.50 RM 156.7 PL I-TAC 3
868.01250 823.01250 RM 156.7 PL I-TAC 4

Fire/EMS
Frequency Type Tone Description Mode
154.28000 BM CSQ Mutual Aid - Baltimore Area Primary / Fireground FM
154.29500 B CSQ Mutual Aid - Washington Area Primary FM

Frequency Type Tone Description Mode
460.05000 BM 114.8 PL Metro-Net Intersystem FM

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