Orange County's Mobile Communications Center Ready In Case Of Disaster

[Geppetto 31]

Serves as mobile contact center

By Chris Mckenna

Times Herald-Record

September 13, 2009

GOSHEN — It's 36 feet long, it has two digital video cameras on its roof — and when deployed to a disaster, a team of dispatchers field calls inside and help cops, firefighters and medical workers talk to each other from various locations.

It's Orange County's Mobile Communications Center — a $276,000, rolling testament to the government money that has poured into states and localities for emergency preparation since the trauma of 9/11 eight years ago.

Orange County bought its giant rig in 2006 with a $400,000 grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security — money awarded to help the county respond to incidents involving terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, county lawmakers noted in accepting the funds....

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../NEWS/909130326

[NWFDMedic 58]

Seems like a lot of money to spend on something that's going to sit in a garage and become obsolete. If the thing is going to take 90 minutes to staff, can't you get state resources in an similar time frame?

[Bnechis 3,961]

Seems like a lot of money to spend on something that's going to sit in a garage and become obsolete. If the thing is going to take 90 minutes to staff, can't you get state resources in an similar time frame?

The same could be said for a lot of fire apparatus

[bob803 1]

If they recieved a $400,000 grant and only spent $276 what was the other money used for???

[x635 4,066]

With Stewart Air force base, I can see if something major goes down in NYC Orange County becoming a place of refuge, and flights could be diverted to Stewart. Also, with the major throuroughfares running through Orange and potential for major disaster/storms, why shouldn't they have this vehicle? Something like this is for the just in cases, just like BNechis said. And, when something does happen, this particular resource can be a tremendous asset.

In some areas, like Westchester, some communities even have multiple command post vehicles available.

[NWFDMedic 58]

It's surely a resource that is needed but how many? Do Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster really need their own? Why not have one for the Hudson Valley region?

[27east 19]

It's surely a resource that is needed but how many? Do Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster really need their own? Why not have one for the Hudson Valley region?

Because that would share resources and make sense.

So no.

[Goose 188]

It's surely a resource that is needed but how many? Do Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster really need their own? Why not have one for the Hudson Valley region?

While they may not necessarily be busy areas...its probably best that each county have their own. I remember being stuck a standby up at that ulster forest fire a year or so back and they had their mobile command post there...if you had a regional truck, there would be nothing left for any incidents that occurred during that event. Besides...thats an absurd amount of territory for one vehicle to cover...

Edited September 13, 2009 by Goose