Carbon and Schuylkill officials are hoping that partnering together to develop a regional emergency support network will help emergency responders better communicate via radio when emergencies strike.

On Thursday, the Carbon County Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with the neighboring county to “develop a regional communication, dispatch and recording network in a cooperative venture on the existing P25 radio network.”

The total cost for this is $5,324,500 and includes work on five tower sites, seven dispatch consoles and a regional eventide logging recorder.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said that upgrading the radio system from analog to digital frequencies and putting in the proper equipment will allow for better communication within departments in the two counties during emergencies.

He used the example of a house fire in Tamaqua that was happening during the meeting where both Carbon and Schuylkill fire departments responded. Carbon is on analog frequencies while Schuylkill is digital. The action will eventually better allow these departments to communicate on the same radio frequencies.

Nothstein said that this project is a long-term project utilizing grant money from the fees collected on wireless phones.

Nothstein added that this will be an expense to the county and emergency services, but said it will be a benefit down the road.

In 2012, Carbon County took on a narrowbanding project that provided more frequencies for emergency responders.

At that time, 19 municipalities partnered with the county and applied for a grant to help cover the cost of new radio equipment. A total of $907,453 was secured through Local Share money.

Nothstein said Thursday that the narrowbanding project showed how communities could work together to try and cut down on the costs.