Incident Commanders’ Radio Interface (ICRI) Being Deployed Throughout All County Emergency Management Agencies
Reston, VA – The State of New Jersey is enacting a plan to enable its first-responders to talk and coordinate at the scene of an emergency within minutes. New Jersey’s Department of Law and Public Safety has purchased and deployed an initial order of 21 “Incident Commanders’ Radio Interface” (ICRITM) – one for each of its county emergency management agencies – with another 21 units pending. The ICRI is a small, rapidly configurable “bridge” for linking together typically incompatible UHF, VHF and 800 MHz radio equipment used by different agencies and jurisdictions.
The ICRI has been designed to sit in an environmentally-protected case, with slots for up to five agency radios, so that the entire water-proof interoperability package can be operated while closed.
The ICRIs have also been configured with a new feature to bypass the problem of disrupted radio communications that occurs when more than one interoperability device is used at an emergency, creating interference for the bridges and radios connected to them, rendering them useless. Equipped with Bridge Unit ID, the ICRI transmits a digitized speech message on all talk groups at preset intervals, easily identifying the unit and its owner/agency, and through its Remote Control feature the unmanned ICRI can be operated and shut-off.
Features of the specially packaged ICRI include:
- Highly portable, and mobile for quick deployment to difficult to access emergencies such as subway tunnels and high-rises.
- Operates on eight standard “AA” batteries – runs independent of the power grid and is not subject to outages caused by flooding or explosion.
- Requires no special radio or computer skills – enabling first-responders to set up and achieve full interoperability at an incident within minutes.
“New Jersey’s model for ensuring interoperability across all of its localities on a statewide basis is very progressive,” offered Seth Leyman, president of Communications-Applied Technology, manufacturer of the ICRI. “Their coordinated approach also eliminates the costly problem of individual agencies buying inappropriate and duplicative equipment.”
About Communications-Applied Technology (C-AT):
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 on the ICRI, please visit www.radiointeroperability.com, or call 1-800-229-3925.
