Harrisonburg-Rockingham

In January 2005 the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC) started an $18.9 Million project to facilitate seamless interoperable communications for the City and County’s 60 public safety and public service Departments/Agencies.   Previously, the stakeholders could not communicate over their disparate radio systems when responding to emergencies or while performing routine day-to-day tasks. In addition to an 11 site 800 MHz system implementation covering 850 square miles, a public safety paging system, Very High Frequency (VHF)/Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/800MHz mutual aid and high-capacity microwave data networks will be installed as a part of the overall radio communications solution.

The backbone of the communications system will include an 800MHz enhanced digital access communications system (EDACS) internet protocol (IP) digital communications network with Project 25 Common Air Interface, which will provide users with comprehensive digital coverage. The new system replaces conventional Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) systems that did not provide ample coverage, afford adequate channel capacity or grant interoperable communications capabilities among various agencies in the City, County and neighboring municipalities.

The new system will equip public safety personnel in the region with an essential communications tool necessary to better perform their work.  For the first time, the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County’s police, sheriff, fire and emergency medical first-responders will be able to talk to one another and coordinate with other city and county service agencies on a single communications system -- enabling the 1700 users to act more quickly and efficiently in times of crisis, without awkwardly switching radios or attempting to patch in to remote dispatchers.

A system-level interoperability solution design will be developed that highly leverages day-to-day, large scale and wide area inter-system radio communication needs.  The result will be a technically-intelligent but user-simplistic approach to interoperability with other radio systems in concurrent coverage area as well as surrounding municipalities.  Leveraging the enhanced capabilities of the new digital Internet protocol based radio system and interfacing legacy radio systems will afford a high level of interoperability with no investment to mutual-aid users.  Set up with mutual aid radios systems will not require technical set up or supervisory interaction.  Interoperable communications will be an anytime, anywhere reality in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham radio system.

Collaboration with the Commonwealth’s Interoperability Effort

The Director of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center is a member of the State Interoperability Executive Committee as the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO) representative.  This has allowed better coordination between the regional and statewide efforts.

For more information regarding activities in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area please contact Jim Junkins, Director, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center at 540-434-2006.