South Plainfield’s Emergency Operations Center, which received more than 68,000 calls for assistance last year alone, has functioned two decades without a complete overhaul.
“During that time, there have been significant technological advances in the field,” South Plainfield Police Captain Peter Papa said. “Our current systems are at the end of their life and not serviceable any longer.”
With $370,000 in funding Congressman Frank Pallone secured through the federal government’s 2023 Community Funding Project, the borough’s emergency response system will soon be extensively modernized and upgraded.
Following a press conference today announcing the funding, Senator Patrick Diegnan and Assemblyman Rob Karabinchak were among the state, borough and South Plainfield School District officials who joined Pallone and Mayor Matthew Anesh for a tour of the Emergency Operations Center.
“I can’t believe the number of emergency calls our first responders receive,” said Diegnan, a lifelong South Plainfield resident. “That shows the people in our town know when people are in trouble the first call you make is to your police department.”
Diegnan thanked Pallone and borough officials for their collaborative efforts in securing the federal funding.
“This is the absolute positive example of what political leadership is,” Diegnan said, gesturing to Pallone. “There is no better political leader that I know. We are really lucky to have him.”
South Plainfield will utilize the funding to replace equipment and upgrade its Communications and 911 Center to coordinate police, fire, and EMS services during emergencies.
“Congressman Pallone’s commitment to securing $370,000 for the South Plainfield 911 call center demonstrates his unwavering dedication to ensuring public safety,” Karabinchak said.
“With this funding, the call center will be able to upgrade their technology and provide residents with the most efficient and reliable emergency response system possible. This is a prime example of the crucial role elected officials play in supporting our communities and making a positive impact.”
Papa and the South Plainfield Police Department’s administrative staff collaborated with Pallone and his staff to apply for the funding with the full support of Anesh, Chief James Parker, and the borough council.
The upgrades will ensure first responders can work together more effectively and increase their capability to respond to emergencies. Papa noted mutual aid response for neighboring jurisdictions and county and state agencies, which are also routed through the Emergency Operations Center, will benefit from the upgrades.
“The update and modernization of the South Plainfield Emergency Operations Center will allow for timelier management of incoming 911 calls and the immediate dispatch of emergency services,” Papa said.
“It will also provide for a more efficient coordination of resources during times of emergency, ultimately providing the best services available to the community of South Plainfield in a field where seconds save lives.”
The new systems being integrated into South Plainfield’s Emergency Operations Center will allow for:
- System scaling to accommodate future changes and expansion.
- The ability to sustain a single- or multiple-point failure and still keep operations running.
- The option of operating all systems remotely through laptops or geo-redundant locations.
- Seamless integration into Next Generation 911 service delivery, including text to 911, Rapid S.O.S., and emerging 911 interface standards.
- More flexible and faster call routing to transfer and receive 911 calls from other jurisdictions.
- Reporting, to allow for a data driven analytical approach to identify areas that need improvement throughout the lifecycle of each incident.
“Most of our day-to-day activities in the (Emergency Operations Center) are handled by our 911 dispatchers,” said Papa, who is part of the team that staffs, manages, and oversees South Plainfield’s Emergency Operations Center.
“These dispatchers are the public’s first point of contact on everything from a simple motor vehicle accident to an event that could be the most difficult day of their life. I would like to thank all of our dispatchers for their service, in a field that is extremely challenging and sometimes doesn’t receive the recognition that it deserves.”
In addition to the nearly 190 calls it receives daily for assistance, South Plainfield’s Emergency Operations Center must be prepared for natural disasters such as Hurricane Ida, whose remnants deluged the borough with nine inches of rain.
“We have to make sure that we are prepared for the worst,” Pallone said. “One of the most important things in that regard is to make sure the equipment and tools for first responders are good and up to date.”
South Plainfield’s Emergency Operations Center received more than 500 calls over a three-day period during and following Ida’s wrath, resulting in numerous life-saving actions.
Deputy Fire Chief Lawrence DelNegro, Detectives Christopher Blath, Peter Hlavka, and Officers Brian Zielinski, Michael Alvarez and Stephen Petriello were among South Plainfield’s many first responders whose heroic efforts saved lives, including that of a young man trapped in floodwaters and of a mother and her two children whose car became submerged in a waterlogged ditch.
All were honored with awards for valor last year by the 200 Club of Middlesex County, which raises awareness and builds support for public safety officials who put their lives in harm’s way to ensure a safer society.
“The No. 1 reason people choose a town to live in is because it’s safe,” Diegnan said. “South Plainfield is known, No. 1 for being safe, and No. 2 for its great schools.”
In addition to thanking Pallone, Papa, and Parker, Anesh expressed gratitude to legislators from the 18th District, South Plainfield Board of Education President Pio Pennisi, South Plainfield School District Superintendent Dr. Noreen Tansey, Councilwoman Christine Faustini, South Plainfield Junior Baseball Club safety trustee and school board member Tom Cassio, and borough administrator Glenn Cullen for “writing letters to Congressman Pallone and getting involved in supporting upgrading our Emergency Communications Center.”
Anesh said the end result of the collaborative effort is a state-of-the-art 911 Communication Infrastructure benefiting the safety and well-being of South Plainfield’s residents.
Senator Patrick Diegnan 