Evening star., 1938-10-13
MONUMENT GETS
FIRE RADIO SET
Experimental Station Being
Installed in Shaft for
Emergency Use.

An experimental pickup station for
two-Way radio communication for
emergency fire work of the Fire and
Police Departments Is being installed
at the top of the Washington Monu-
ment, Herbert A. Friede, superintend-
ent District alarm systems, said to-
day.
The Office of National Parks has
given permission to utilize the space
in the shaft between the spectators
platform and the top of the monu-
ment.
Under present plans two-way radio
communication will be used for emer-
gency fire work only. and sending and
receiving sets will be installed in the
flreboat, the cars of the fire marshal
and fire chiefs, the Car of the Fire
Departments chief engineer, the car
of the superintendent of machinery
and that of the superintendent of the
alarm system.
A pickup set in high, unob-
structed building is needed because
sending sets in the cars will not be
powerful enough to reach the fireboat,
for instance, up the river.
The part the Monument set will
play is as follows:
The fire marshal. for instance,
wants to get i'll touch with the fire.
boat which IS up the river breaking
ice. A water front fire has broken out.
He sends the call out on the sending
set in his car. The set in the Monu-
ment picks up the call and relays it
to Station WPDW at the 10th pre-
clnct, which in turn sends it to the
f1reboat under increased power. The
flreboat will be able to talk back in
the same way.
Heretofore no sending sets have
been used in, the firecars. although
police have experimental with them
In scout cars.
Mr.. Friede said, however, the set
would not be put into use until 1910.
when the Districts new fire alarm
headquarters on the south side of Nc
MILAN Park is completed under
S500,000 P. w. A. loan and grant.
About $500 Of this money is being used
for the Monument set.
Bids on the first unit Of the new
hre alarm headquarters-unde
conduits connecting the new site with
existing alarm conduits-will be
opened Monday at the District Build
ing. These conduits will cost from
$4,000 to $4,000 Work on the actual
building must start before January l
and 1t is expected bids will be ad-
Vertlsed on the construction work in
the near future.
Mr.. Friede said that no plans exist
for installation of sending sets in
regular tire-tighting vehicles, as they
would not be needed.
Maj. Ernest w. Brown, super
lntendent of police, for several Years
has experlmented with sending as we'll
AS receiving sets in his scout cars. It
is understood he is anxious to utilize
the proposed Washington Monument
pickup set for regular police calls
When it is not in use by the Fire
Department. In this way police cars
detailed to a fire also would be able
to carry on tWo-Way conversations in
connection with emergency fire work.
Mr.. Friede said that. as the pickup
set would probably not be used more
than few times a year for emergency
fire work, there would be ample oppor-
tunity to use it for police calls not con-
nected with fires.
Station WPDW will remain the CEN
trail sending station for both the Fire |
and Police Departments because the
Federal Communications Commission |
allows only one frequency in the ultra
nigh brackets to a city. Calls picked |
up by the Monument set, however, will !
be relayed by wire connection to the |
new fire alarm headquarters as we'll ,
as Station WPDW, he said
Mr.. Friede, emphasized. however.
that the Monument set is only in the |
nature of an experiment and that it |
may have to be abandoned if not sue |
cessful. 1t should X successful, |
though, he said, as the Monument set |
is the highest and most unobstructed |
building in the city.