WASHINGTON, 5 April 2005. Emergency responders in New Jersey and Connecticut will use interoperable radios from Communications-Applied Technology (C-AT) when they respond to a simulated terror attack in the federal TOPOFF exercise this month.
From April 4 to 8, the exercise will recreate a complex terrorist campaign, including a simulated biological attack in New Jersey's Union and Middlesex Counties, and a chemical attack in New London, Conn.
The congressionally-supported TOPOFF 3 exercise, with 16,000 participants, will simulate a large-scale, multipoint terrorist attack with a coordinated national and international response.
Eleven participating agencies in New Jersey and Connecticut will be using "Incident Commanders' Radio Interface" devices (ICRI) to provide radio interoperability for first-responders, and commanders to share information and enhance situational awareness.
Communications-Applied Technology's Incident Commanders' Radio Interface, currently in use with agencies in both states, will be deployed to provide immediate, on-the-scene interoperability that bridges the different radios used by fire, police, HAZMAT, public safety, and homeland security first-responders.
The TOPOFF 3 emergency response will begin with the homeland security systems in Connecticut and New Jersey, and lead to national and international assistance from the U.K. and Canada. Participants from more than 200 federal, state, local, tribal, private sector, and international agencies and organizations and volunteer groups will be active in the five-day exercise.
The ICRI was successfully used by first responders during the 2003 TOPOFF 2, which involved two separate and simultaneously evolving, man-made disasters in northern Illinois. TOPOFF 2 created the largest mobilization of equipment and personnel experienced by Illinois' fire service mutual aid organization. At TOPOFF 3, additional functions sought by public safety officials will include commercial two-way radios "talking" to Nextel telephones equipped with "Direct Connect" capabilities.
First-responders will be able to bridge radios from various responding agencies on different radio frequencies as the highly fluid attack and response scenarios unfold...even without specialized training as Communications Technicians. Using the small, AA battery-powered ICRI, they will be able to establish radio interoperability in two to five minutes.
Military and public safety agencies that have selected the ICRI for the simplicity of operation in supporting their field activities include: Pentagon Force Protection Agency, NORTHCOM Joint Task Force-Civil Support, Houston Police Department (Texas), Fairfax County Fire & Rescue (Virginia), Seattle Fire Department (Washington), and FEMA's US&R MATF-01 (Massachusetts), plus many additional communities throughout the U.S. and Canada.
C-AT is a veteran-owned, small business that designs and manufactures the ICRI, radios, and intercoms for military, public safety, and commercial organizations. For more information, see www.radiointeroperability.com.
