News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
DeKalb County EMA asking the county commission to consider some new equipment in the new budget.
EMA Director Charlie Parker said that one ask was for an additional $4,600 for a RadarOmega system. He said that it will help to detect changes in weather.
“There are also monitoring devices at the site that tell wind speed, wind gusts, dew points, and several other bits about the incoming weather,” Parker said. “And it also has a camera that’s on-site so you can see what the system is doing at different points in the county.”
Parker said that other agencies in the region are also seeking such equipment. He said that the more agencies who use it, the easier it will be to track weather patterns and paths of dangerous weather.
Parker said that another ask was some $8,000 for an interoperability radio box. He said that the system will help to make communications with other emergency agencies more efficient while on different radio frequencies.
“Different counties in Tennessee use different radio frequencies and different bands for their county,” Parker said. “This would allow us interoperability so if someone comes into our county, we can use this piece of equipment to put their frequencies with our frequencies so all of our emergency responders can talk back nd forth on their radio that they have and we’ll be able to talk on our radio and be able to communicate with each other.”
Parker said that the end goal of these purchases is to increase safety and efficiency when it comes to serving the folks of DeKalb County.
