As a raging forest fire forced rural residents from their homes near Prince Albert, Sask., last month, officials were in Regina announcing a new common radio system for emergency personnel in similar situations.By the end of this year, the Provincial Public Safety Telecommunications Network will link thousands of Saskatchewan police, fire and emergency medical personnel. The network will replace the SaskTel Fleetnet system.The $130 million public safety project has been in the works since 2002. It is being built on the existing SaskPower/RCMP system.“This is the first time that Saskatchewan has had a public safety radio system dedicated to support front line responders and their logistic support,” said provincial fire commissioner Duane McKay.“This allows these agencies to start to communicate together through proper protocol.”Essentially, personnel will be able to switch to a common radio channel to co-ordinate their efforts. Weyburn police and fire services will be the first to sign on in June.Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities president David Marit said rural areas will benefit from the network.“This is great stuff. This is something we’ve been looking for – emergency services that can be communicated within rural in a timely and very efficient manner,” Marit said.There have been concerns about the cost of the radios and the monthly operating fee. The fee is $90 per month but the province announced last fall it would charge users $40 per month and make up the difference through a 24 cent increase in the 911 charge on SaskTel bills.Saskatchewan Corrections, Public Safety and Policing minister Yogi Huyghebaert has also announced a radio purchase plan to help municipalities with the approximately $2,000 cost of each unit, as well as free radios for front line services.“That basically allows them to get a radio with all of their apparatus in the fire service, some command and control radios for their chiefs, and radios into all police cars and into the hands of all police officers,” McKay explained.This will bring the cost down so that municipalities of all sizes and capacities will be able to have radios on this system, he said.“The other nice thing we have learned is that this system will also be very easily integrated into our grader network,” said Marit.“So if you have UHF radios in your graders, you’ll be able to get the crystals to put into your graders so they can also co-ordinate with your captain or your team leader.”That would be useful in grass fire situations, he added.Marit said some municipalities will still worry about cost but safety is key.“I think if you went and talked to your ratepayers … I don’t think you’re going to have too many ratepayers saying no don’t do it. It’s for their safety and their kids’ safety and we want people to stay out in rural so we’ve got to have the services there to protect them.”
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