Cambria County first responders get new radio equipment

EBENSBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) – The call for a new radio system was loud and clear by first responders in Cambria County. Depending on where they were responding, sometimes they needed to use hand signals or their voices to communicate with one another.

“When you think about a first responder who’s in the field calling for help or trying to give direction to other responders who are coming in and they can’t communicate on the radio. I equate it again to somebody who’s underwater screaming for help, but nobody can hear them,” Cambria County 911 and Emergency Management executive director Art Martynuska said.

Over the past seven years, Cambria County officials including the commissioners have been working to upgrade the public radio system. That hard-fought and multimillion-dollar project officially came to an end on Tuesday when officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate adding a new state-of-the-art system.

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The new system will provide radio coverage to first responders in close to 100% of the county, keeping the community and first responders safer in times of emergencies.

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