FDNY, NYPD Can Finally Radio Each Other

During the September 11 attacks, the police and fire departments weren't able to communicate with each other. Now, almost seven years late, the NY Times reports the agencies have improved their "ability to...operate together." Now, the Fire Department can receive information from police helicopters over a scene and emergency works will be able to "contact the police directly via radio." NYPD Deputy Chief Charles F. Dowd said, "Right now we are fully interoperable on all levels," and FDNY Fire Chief Salvatore Cassano said the departments need to "have more drills, more participation, to increase not only awareness of the other agencies’ needs but also make the other agencies aware of our needs."

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By Jen Chung in News on July 31, 2008 9:57 AM

Comments [rss]

rhonda718

Call me a skeptic, but something tells me this isn't going to change much.

Both agencies will continue to be territorial and guarded with informaiton.

And on 9/11, were the losses really any different because they couldn't communicate. Did the NYPD know the towers were coming down and couldn't tell the NYFD, or was it vice versa? I'm going with it was a chaotic, unprecedented situation, and losses were high accordingly.

lanciano

the ability for agencies to share information with each other seems like a pretty obvious necessity to me. yet no one seems to want to do it! federal govt, CIA, FBI, if they shared information and intelligencein the beginning maybe 9/11 wouldn't have happened in the first place and if NYPD and FDNY had been able to communicate that day, the losses would not have been as great.