Cal EMA Transfers Gateway Communication Unit to San Mateo County

*The following news release was issued by Cal EMA on Friday, April 30, 2010.  The official release may be found here.*

~Sheriff’s Department Home to Newest Emergency Communications Resource~

SAN MATEO, CA – Today, representatives from the California Emergency Management Agency, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department and local agencies participated in an event recognizing the transfer of a Cal EMA Mobile Interoperability Gateway Unit (MIGU) to San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department.  This MIGU is a tool that will serve to provide communications capabilities between multiple responding agencies in the event of a major incident.

“In an emergency, communication is critical – especially between first responders,” said Cal EMA Secretary Matthew Bettenhausen. “These units are a great asset in emergency management because they allow for information to be shared quickly and accurately between multiple agencies, which enable emergency responders to better protect public health and safety during times of crisis.”

Developed by Cal EMA and funded through federal Homeland Security grants, the MIGU’s are a key element in California’s emergency tool kit.  Each unit is equipped with a variety of communication technologies that bridge the gap between disparate radio systems, allowing communication to flow easily between first responders from different agencies.

San Mateo’s MIGU is one of six units being deployed throughout California’s Mutual Aid Regions.  MIGUs will also be located at Cal EMA Headquarters in Mather, CA; Cal EMA’s Southern Region Office in Los Alamitos, as well as sheriff’s offices in Colusa, San Luis Obispo and San Bernardino counties.  Deployable 24/7 upon request through Cal EMA’s resource management system, the strategic positioning statewide allows for a MIGU to be on scene of an emergency within one hour.

Each unit was funded by both US Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grant Program (approximately $234,000/unit) and Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP) grants (approximately $41,700/unit) and include communications features such as Operational Area Satellite Information System (OASIS) Satellite Transportable Earth Station, Internet capability, video teleconferencing, audio gateway switch for patching radio equipment, high frequency and V/UHF radios, and more.

The MIGUs can be utilized to provide communication capabilities at any number of locations such as natural disasters/environmental events, mutual aid situations, planned events such as demonstrations and protests, search and rescue, and other multi-jurisdictional events.

For more information, please visit Cal EMA’s website at www.calema.ca.gov.