‘Great addition’

Donations fuel expansion of police, ambulance service on Danbury’s west side

DANBURY — Emergency response on the growing west side of the city is expected to improve as police and ambulance services expand their presence there.

Police plan to improve radio coverage on the west side ahead of officers’ move into a new substation, while an ambulance building was recently constructed on Wooster Heights Road.

Danbury City Council approved on Tuesday night the donation of the building and an about $161,000 gift to cover the radio project from the Summit, a commercial and residential development in the 1.2 millionsquare-foot former Matrix building.

Fred Visconti, a City Council member, called the radios a “great addition” to the west side.

“If there’s anything that we need for public safety to work the right way, it’s a communication center,” he said. “This will be outstanding.”

Major crime has been decreasing in the city in recent years, declining 21 percent in 2020 and 16 percent in 2019.

But about 2,500 townhouses, apartments or condos have been built since the mid-2000s as part of the Abbey Woods and Rivington developments on the west side. The Summit plans to build between 200 to 404 apartments, depending on whether the proposed Danbury Career Academy is approved.

This growth necessitated the police substation, which will be on the ground level, across from the lobby in the Summit building.

“This will give our assigned patrol units a satellite office, so that they don't always have to come back to our main headquarters to follow up on calls for service, get supplies, write reports, make calls, etc.,” Chief Patrick Ridenhour said in an email.

But poor radio coverage has been an ongoing problem on the west side and needs to be fixed before officers can move into the substation, he said.

“For years, radio coverage has been spotty in pockets of the west side, which can compromise officers and public safety,” Ridenhour said.

The fire department has already upgraded its radio system.

“We’re playing catch-up,” he said.

But Mayor Joe Cavo said firefighters told him the project would benefit fire and emergency medical services’ communications, too.

“It should help a lot of the problems that are there,” he said.

Council member Ben Chianese called the upgrades a “much needed asset” to the west side, but asked whether it would help the Aunt Hack Road area, which he said has had radio issues in the past. The road is about three miles from the Summit.

“To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure if it will improve there,” Ridenhour told him. “If it’s on the west side, there should probably be some improvement. That’s the overall goal of this project, is to improve the overall reception on the west side. And given the proximity to the Summit, I would hope that it would make better communications there.”

Motorola Solutions plans to install an ultra-high frequency, IP analog simulcast system with transmit and receive systems at WLAD, Danbury Hospital and Abbey Woods. Norcom CT will handle the antenna, according to documents submitted to City Council.

The radio project is the only obstacle holding up the move into the substation.

“For the most part the space is ready, but we can’t use it until we are certain that we have solid radio reception and transmission capabilities,” Ridenhour said.

The Summit plans to fully cover the cost of the project in an effort to benefit its development and the area.

“The west side is underserved, and this is a good way to give back to the city,” said Mike Basile, project manager for Summit Development.

The substation will have computers, phones, a restroom and private meeting space, he said. He is not sure when the project will begin or how long it will take.

“I know that the vendor was eager to get started on the project,” Ridenhour said.

Ambulance crews also have a new building to work out of and store equipment on the campus of Keystone Place, a new senior living community.

Rizzo Construction Company built and donated the $150,000 facility, which has $3,000 of “content” inside, interim Fire Chief Kevin Ford said in a letter to City Council. The city will rent the building for a $1 a year.

Officials have said this will quicken response times on the west side.

“This is something that those of us in the west side have wanted and needed for many, many years,” Visconti said. “It really is going to make a big difference in timing, to getting the patients back to the hospital or wherever they may be going.”