The Communications Unit (COML) falls under the Emergency Management/Disaster Preparedness Division of the Erie County Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services and works closely with the Fire Radio Repair Shop located in Chestnut Ridge Park under the direction of the Fire Safety Division; as well as support of MERS Control – our 24-hour Emergency Dispatch Center which is under the coordination of the EMS Division and located on the Public Safety Campus in downtown Buffalo.
COML supports Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement and other public safety related agencies with the design, configuration, repair, installation and programming of portable, mobile and base station radio systems and all of the associated hardware, software, towers, antennas and accessories. These systems encompass 400MHZ two-radio communications and our recent deployment of a new First Responder Alerting Network (www.iamresponding.com) as a secondary means of notification with more than 10,000 users in the county.
The Communications Unit also maintains and deploys resources such as tow-behind portable generators, Mobile Command & Communications Centers (MOCC Units), COML-Communications Unit Leader response vehicles and mobile radio tower trailers in support of local public safety agencies and events.