Victims families yelling out loud at 911 hearings about radios

Guliani is testifying and the crowd is yelling him down and the repuke who is questioning him because they are asking about the radios used on 911

"Put just ONE of us on the panel"
One of the commissions tells the audience, "Your just wasing time."
Family member yells out..."YOUR wasing time!"
also
"Ask who's getting contracts!"
"Let US rebut him!"

These family members are not going to stand for this fluff investigation!

How impossibly frustrated the families must feel, knowing what needs to be asked, and not hearing the questions.

And how craven and shameless of the commissioners not to ask them.

I feel compelled to break my 4 years of lurking here at DU to contribute to our members knowledge. I have not seen this anywhere ever and it is very important. I live in NYC and I seem to recollect the following events....

In the spring of 2001, FDNY introduced new Motorola digital radios to firemen in NYC. Soon after their introduction, the rank and file (union) began to complain that the radios had been inadequately field tested. Then there was an incident where a fire fighter with a new radio, called for help at a big fire which was not heard by others at the fire scene... It was a big story at the time and consequently the radios were withdrawn from use and the old radios given back out to all firemen...

A short time later, I was home one afternoon and stumbled upon the CSPAN like channel in NY set aside for the City Concil of New York. It was showing a hearing about the "radio problem of FDNY". (Remember, this is like in April or May of 2001!!!!) What I watched was (in my opinion) a political power play... The city was saying that the radios were fine, they had the Fire Commissioner saying that they had field tested them enough, they had the chief of the tech end saying that they had tested them enough, they even had "the guy from Motorola" there, espousing the new radios great new features.

The FDNY union guys there were saying that the the radios were difficult to use and that they WERE NOT field tested enough and made a major issue of the firefighter whose"mayday call" was not heard recently at a fire scene... It went back and forth for hours with everyone claiming to be correct.....

A sentence that I heard that day and one that I heard again and again in my mind that beautiful sunny morning in September was this... That the NEW DIGITAL RADIOS WERE DESIGNED TO WORK MUCH BETTER IN HIGH RISE SITUATIONS... This fact was stated over and over again at the hearing....

What I belive people what I believe those people were screaming about is that the city did not impliment this new technology in a manner that it ,(the city) should have. Meaning, had they tested these radios in a differnet (better) way, maybe the rank and file would have ACCEPTED them when they were introduced... Remember, there is evidence to suggest that many firefighters died because they DID NOT HEAR THE EVACUATION ORDERS...

I am not completely certain but I think that post 911 these new digital radios are now in use by the FDNY. If this is indeed correct, the families anger at the the powers that be is based on the fact that because of a poorly implimented plan to introduce something new and because of the normal political infighting between the usual suspects, some brothers, fathers, sons and husbands died on the beautiful sunny day in September that I still can't believe I saw happen................

for that information which I am tearfully digesting.

The families must have known this for a while and I have not seen it anywhere in the news.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

Glad to help out my friend... Its just beeen sooo long and I can't believe that it has never been mentioned.... Thanks again...