Montgomery County, PA Department Of Public Safety's New Emergency Fleet Vehicle

The Montgomery County, PA Department of Public Safety recently welcomed into its fleet of emergency vehicles a state-of-the-art field command and communications unit. Inside the 48-foot-long unit are communications radios, cellphones, desktop, and laptop computers, flat-screen televisions, tables, chairs, and printers.

The $570,000 unit, purchased with homeland security grant money, is capable of handling special types of emergencies, consisting of multi-alarm fires, barricaded subjects, hostage situations, hazardous materials incidents, and high-risk warrant issuing situations, according to John DiNolfi, Assistant Director for Special Events for the Department of Public Safety.

DiNolfi pointed out that these emergencies warrant the three types of emergency responders: police, fire, and EMS services. "When the incident commander — the one in charge of that particular emergency — arrives on scene, he sizes up the situation, determines its severity and then calls in for a field communications command post," DiNolfi said. "The incident commander, joined by all the key players representing the appropriate emergency agencies, form "the nerve center for the operation, discussing the situation and performing strategic planning."

Among the sophisticated equipment designed for these specialized operations is a 35-foot telescopic camera mounted on the roof of the vehicle. "This camera," explained DiNolfi, "can zoom in immediately on a subject as far as half-mile away. We can determine if there are additional people with the subject, if there are detonators or weapons inside the room, and the best way to access and exit the space.

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