Regional Radio Network Is Urged

Saying their enemy is often an antiquated radio, representatives of numerous police and fire agencies called Thursday for a state-of-the-art communications network linking emergency workers across Los Angeles County.

More than 100 police officers and firefighters reviewed a plan by the city of Glendale for a network connecting radio systems in dozens of cities. It would allow police and fire departments to communicate with neighboring jurisdictions while maintaining local control of their radio traffic.

Glendale officials presented their proposal to municipal safety agencies including Torrance, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Maywood, Arcadia, El Segundo and Montebello.

The cost of the regional system, expected to total several million dollars, will be determined by how many agencies join the network.

During Thursday’s meeting at Glendale Fire Department headquarters, emergency workers said they are forced to rely on old, limited-frequency radios that do not work outside their jurisdictions. That cuts off communications during long-range police pursuits or disasters that require neighboring agencies to help each other.

“It’s a dangerous situation,” said Steven Hronek, an information services administrator for Glendale. “Not only dangerous but unnecessary.... The public expects that we’re already able to communicate with each other.”

He said the problem extends to the city of Los Angeles, where a $21-million communications system installed last year provoked complaints from officers who said they had trouble radioing each other.

A regional network would accommodate radios using narrow or wide bands and analog or digital technology, Hronek said.

Glendale’s City Council last year approved $16.2 million to upgrade its obsolete radio system. That sum includes $300,000 for technology to connect to transmitter sites in Beverly Hills and Culver City, two communities that already have decided to become part of the regional network.

It would have cost Glendale $1.5 million to build its own transmitters, Hronek estimated.

He and other officials said the network would help cities maintain the high security alert ordered after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The officials said they hope to obtain federal grants to help pay for the systems.

During his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, President Bush called for nearly doubling federal funding for homeland security measures.

“This is a hot issue,” said Simone Slifman, a management analyst in Culver City’s grants administration office. “Now is the time to act.”

Hermosa Beach Fire Capt. Brian Scott said a regional network is long overdue. He recalled fighting wind-whipped flames with workers from other county departments.

“None of us could communicate with each other,” Scott said. “We had to carry several radios or use cell phones, which don’t always work in the mountains.

“Every second is critical. We don’t want to waste any time figuring how we’re going to communicate.”