Durst Buildings Install State-of-the-Art First Responder Systems
May 31, 2006
Durst Buildings Install State-of-the-Art First Responder Systems
One of New York’s biggest real estate companies will upgrade radio transmissions in its high-rise office buildings by installing a state-of-the-art, high-tech communications system to assist firefighters, medical technicians, police and other rescuers who are first on the scene in responding to emergencies.
The new system, which will facilitate two-way radio communications from both outside and inside all parts of some of the city’s biggest office towers, including sub-basements and the uppermost floors, was unveiled today by the Durst Organization in a ceremony in which keys to the system were presented to the New York City Fire Department.
Also attending was U.S. Rep. Peter King, Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip in Congress.
A demonstration of the system was given during a press conference at 4 Times Square, home to Condé Nast Publications and the flagship tower in Durst’s current real estate holdings. The Condé Nast building is the first Durst building in which the new radio system has been made fully operational.
By this summer, the system will be operational in a total of eight Durst high-rise office buildings in Manhattan. The ninth, the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, will be completed in 2008 and the first responder system is incorporated in its design.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, in a statement, thanked the Durst Organization for its commitment to the well being of the members of the New York City Fire Department.
“First Responders’ safety depends on the ability to communicate in the most extreme circumstances,” said Commissioner Scoppetta. “By adding an extra layer of communication capability, the Durst Organization has improved the safety of its tenants and all First Responders. This is corporate responsibility at its best.”
Commissioner Scoppetta had been scheduled to attend the press conference to personally accept a key to the new system, but had to cancel his appearance at the last minute because of an unexpected illness in his immediate family. Representing the commissioner at the press conference were First Deputy Fire Commissioner Frank Cruthers and Chief of Operations Salvatore Cassano.
Rep. Peter King (R-Long Island), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security and another participant in the press conference, added: “The Durst Organization has taken a significant step to make certain that our courageous First Responders will be able to swiftly and expeditiously communicate with each other and do what they need to do to save lives.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Bronx, Queens), the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, was present and urged Congress to explore the idea of “public safety grants” and other financial incentives to encourage more real estate developers to install upgraded emergency communications systems.
Also attending the press conference were James Boyle, a retired firefighter and former president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association whose son Michael was killed while responding to the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers; Tom Crowley, president of North American Mobile Systems, design and installation consultants; Tim Clancy, Durst COO; John Lyons, Durst director of broadcast communications; and Douglas Durst and Jonathan Durst, co-presidents of the Durst Organization.
“My heart goes out to the Dursts for making it a priority to protect the lives of our brave firefighters and other city emergency personnel who might have to respond to life-threatening situations in high-rise buildings,” said Boyle.
“This is the kind of technological innovation that could save many lives,” added Douglas Durst. “We are introducing it for two equally important reasons: First, we feel an obligation to meet the very urgent needs of this city’s heroic First Responders. And second, we are deeply concerned for the safety and welfare of our tenants. We must do all we possibly can to protect them.”
In addition to enabling First Responders to engage in two-way communications from all upper floors, interior stairwells, elevators and building exits, the new system will allow rescue teams operating inside the buildings to transmit requests for additional assistance to dispatchers who may be situated at a distance from the actual scene of the emergency.
Over the next few months, the new system, which enhances air wave coverage for the Fire and Police Departments and the Emergency Medical Service on their existing radio networks, will be placed in service in Durst properties housing such major corporate tenants as AIG, Bank of America, Dow Jones & Company, Mitsubishi, Pfizer Inc., Rodale Press Inc., the United States Trust Company and several large law firms, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, and White & Case.
Besides 4 Times Square, the other buildings that will be equipped with the enhanced radio network will include 1133 and 1155 Avenue of the Americas; 114 West 47th Street; 205 East 42d Street; 655 Third Avenue, 675 Third Avenue; 733 Third Avenue; and the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, which is scheduled to open in 2008.
The Durst Organization has also been working with the NYPD to enhance their citywide radio coverage by providing state-of-the-art radio transmission facilities. In addition, the Durst Organization is working with NYPD to identify and install new and compatible radio technologies to further enhance NYPD’s in-building radio coverage.
According to Jonathan Durst, co-president of the Durst Organization, “The sooner the city’s First Responders can begin transmitting in buildings like these, the better. In an emergency situation, every second is a matter of life and death.”
He noted that the new system will facilitate the special needs of the Fire Department, which requires individual firefighters to activate talk buttons on their radios and input identification when trying to engage in emergency transmissions. The system will smoothly pass along such input, Durst explained.
Meanwhile, it will allow Emergency Medical Service personnel to communicate with remote EMS dispatch facilities, even if they are trying to transmit radio messages from the sub-basements of the Durst buildings, Jonathan Durst added.
“Having instant radio communication with the dispatch facility from inside the building could save precious time in assisting heart-attack and stroke victims and others in need of quick emergency medical assistance,” Durst said.
Another enhancement of the new system is that it will permit the Fire Department, the Durst Organization and North American Mobile Systems to monitor the system’s operation from outside the buildings, thereby allowing for timely upgrades and quick troubleshooting of any problems that might require maintenance work.
The system, which was designed with input from both Fire Department Operations and Emergency Medical Service Command, will eventually make use of several highly sophisticated devices and technologies, said John Lyons, Durst director of broadcast communications.
According to Lyons, these innovations, which are currently in the implementation phase and are awaiting final testing, will eventually include:
“House repeater systems,” the critical components of the new system, which will enable the Fire Department to quickly activate its own unique tactical frequencies at a specific emergency site that is equipped with a repeater system.
The repeaters will provide the Fire Department with an added layer of communication, enabling the Fire Department commander at the scene to speak with fire personnel in every corner of the building, from the basement to the roof, from a key-initiated system in the lobby to a firefighter’s individual handie-talkie. Through the repeater system, the commander can give orders simultaneously to every firefighter in the building, including evacuation orders.
“Combiners” and “multicouplers” that will permit multiple frequencies to operate simultaneously, thereby allowing Fire Department command communications, Fire Department tactical communications and Emergency Medical Service or other First Responder communications to take place independently—and simultaneously—on separate frequencies without those frequencies interfering with each other.
Bi-directional amplifiers” that will enable Emergency Medical Service personnel to communicate to outside dispatchers, even if the EMS First Responders are in building sub-basements and the dispatchers are located in other boroughs.
(This part of the system has already been installed by North American Mobile Systems and tested by EMS Command at 4 Times Square. Additionally, North American Mobile Systems has installed these amplifiers at 114 West 47th Street and both 1155 and 1133 Sixth Avenue, but these locations are awaiting EMS testing before the devices will be put “on-line.”)
“Off-premise redundant radio repeaters,” which will be installed in one Durst building on the East Side and another on the West Side, will permit the Fire Department to continue transmitting radio messages into a particular building where an emergency may have occurred, even if that building’s own radio system has been disabled or destroyed.
“In-house cable and antennae systems” and “microwave systems” that will allow relays of specific Fire Department tactical frequencies between different buildings, even when transmitted from the sub-basement of one building to the sub-basement of another.
“Voice over Internet Protocols”, or VoIP, that will enable Fire Department personnel, including those located a considerable distance away—even from headquarters in Brooklyn or other locations—to make use of the Internet to exchange voice radio transmissions with First Responders at the scene of an emergency.
An enhanced “Interoperability Unit,” still in the design and testing phase, which eventually will facilitate communication among First Responders from multiple city services who may be using separate and different radio frequencies.
By employing a state-of-the-art “interoperability unit,” which can either remain permanently inside a facility or be transported, Emergency Medical Service personnel in the sub-basement of a facility, for example, will be able to talk directly to Fire or Police Department personnel anywhere in the building, even though the three different services might be utilizing differing radio frequencies.
In the past, when such units have failed, they have gone completely off the air. Should a channel on the newly designed and improved interoperability unit fail, however, the failing channel will revert to its original stand-alone position and continue to operate independently; allowing users to remain on the air during critical rescue operations.
Recognized as a world leader in technological and environmental improvements to commercial properties, the Durst Organization has been singled out for praise by environmentalists for the “green” design and other environmental enhancements at 4 Times Square, its flagship tower. (Additional information is available at www.durst.org)
Founded in 1915, the Durst Organization is one of New York’s oldest and largest privately owned real estate firms, with an office building portfolio comprising more than 8.5 million square feet. In addition, it is building the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, a 2.1-million-square-foot facility due to open in 2008.