Fire chiefs tell Reid of need for funds to fight terrorism

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004 | 9:53 a.m.

State fire chiefs told Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Wednesday that they need federal funds to modernize communications systems in case of a terrorist attack.

The chiefs said that communication between radios and some computers is very difficult, especially between police and fire departments.

"That (cross-communication) would be crucial if there were a huge incident," said Henderson Fire Chief Jim Cavalieri.

Different departments have different communications systems, partly because each department buys from the lowest bidder when they need a new system, said Clark County Fire Chief Earl Greene.

Some fire departments have figured ways to patch their systems together, Greene said.

"Right now we have a limited ability to do that, but we're not as technically advanced as we should be" he said.

Ultimately, every first responder in the state of Nevada should be able to communicate with each other, Reid said.

Reid estimates it would take $40 million to create a so-called interoperable communications system in Las Vegas. Reid pledged Wednesday to secure that money in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill.

But he said there's a larger national problem of interoperable communications, even though first responders have made progress in preparing for terrorist attacks.

"The state and local counties cannot do it," Reid said. "It's a national problem and we're going to have to figure out some way to address this."

The fire chiefs also told Reid they have had trouble sending employees away to train for a terrorist attack because it's difficult to cover for them at home.

And they said they need more flexibility with homeland security funds, which sometimes are earmarked for one specific type of expenditure when the money is needed to cover other resources.

Several chiefs did say that they have been able to better prepare for an attack because of the federal FIRE Act, which provides grants for first responders.