The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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August 18, 2007

Officials seek radio help

By Kevin Hassler, Associate Editor

Mike Honigsberg wants to add another piece to Enid’s arsenal of technology keeping residents safe.

But, the director the city of Enid’s emergency management and chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), needs some help. The viaRadio system he wants costs $6,000, and he and Enid Fire Department Chief Phil Clover have been demonstrating the system in hopes of getting donations from the community.

The system works over FM radio, and Williams Broadcasting has the equipment in place on its radio tower while Honigsberg and Clover demonstrate the system.

“They were gracious to help us out,” Honigsberg.

The system works in tandem with clock radios, which have emergency warning system chips in them, purchased from viaRadio, which is based in Melbourne, Fla. Warnings could be sent out to more than more than 4,000 groups that can be programmed into the system, Honigsberg said. Messages also could be sent to pagers and cell phones.

For example, Honigsberg and Clover said with the system in place, the fire department could have radios in the homes of members of its hazardous materials unit.

In the event of a problem, a warning could be sent to those radios, telling the firefighters to report for duty to handle the situation, Clover said.

The radios also could be set up in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and the police department. Each group could be programmed to receive various warnings, Honigsberg said, basically whatever suited its purpose the most.

Private citizens, too, would have the opportunity to buy the $100 radios and receive such things as weather alerts or Amber Alerts, Honigsberg said. Emergency management officials would have to determine what warnings would be sent out to the public, he said.

Now, though, Honigsberg and Clover are talking to businesses and civic groups about the system and seeking donations.

“If a civic group wanted to buy ‘x’ amount (of radios) to give out, they could,” he said.

Businesses, too, could buy radios and have their company’s logo put on them, he said.

Anyone wanting information can call Honigsberg at 542-5969 or Clover at 234-0541.

Donations can be sent to Garfield County LEPC, in care of Mike Honigsberg, 114 W. Broadway, Enid OK 73701.

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