Emergency Communications Department
300 South Franklin St.
Holbrook, MA 02343
For Immediate Release
Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Norfolk County Regional Public Safety Answering Point Receives Grant for Expansion
HOLBROOK – The Town of Holbrook Emergency Communications Department is pleased to announce that the Norfolk County Regional Public Safety Answering Point (NC-RPSAP) has received a grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and the State 911 Department for the expansion of its regional communications facility.
The regional communications center received the $1.2 million grant in September, which will help fund an addition to the existing Holbrook Public Safety Building that currently houses the NC-RPSAP, as well as the equipment necessary to assume dispatch responsibilities for the Rockland Police and Fire Departments.
The Norfolk County Regional Public Safety Answering Point currently includes the member communities of Abington, Canton, Holbrook, Rockland, Sharon and Whitman. Additionally, the NC-RPSAP serves as Norfolk County Fire Control and as the host of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Fire Services and HAZMAT EAST Control Point.
The planned 5,260 square foot expansion will provide space for up to 12 dispatch consoles and dramatically increase the equipment room space available for any future equipment upgrades. Additionally, the grant will fund upgrades to the Rockland Police and Fire Department’s radio infrastructure, the fire alarm reporting system, construction design and planning, project management, a new computer-aided dispatch system and a new records management system for Rockland Police and Fire.
“We are attempting to integrate each of our member community’s communications services into a consolidated facility that can support our increasing call volume as well as take on additional towns who want to regionalize their dispatch services,” said Stephan Hooke, Holbrook Public Safety Director of Communications. “We are excited to continue moving forward with the project and to welcome the Town of Rockland as a member community.”
An improved regional communications center will increase public safety preparedness response and operational benefits, enhance the array of services provided to dispatch entities, and increase the capacity for coordination of local and regional police, fire and EMS resources, including response to routine events and major disasters.
The NC-RPSAP has already begun ordering equipment and meeting with vendors and architects for estimates on the project, and plans to assume dispatch services for the Town of Rockland in June. They will also apply for an additional grant in April that will fund construction of the new space and hope to break ground next fall.
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