First responseN.J. county to purchase mobile morgue with DHS grant

Burlington County, New Jersey officials plan to use this year’s DHS grant of $775,000 to purchase surveillance for the county’s radio communications towers, license plate readers, and a mobile morgue unit capable of transporting eight bodies.

County emergency management coordinator, Kevin Tuno, outlined the plans for the DHS grant last week to the county board of freeholders.

County government spokesman, Ralph Shrom, said the county will spend $110,000 to buy surveillance equipment to guard each of their seventeen towers used to receive and transmit radio signals for the county communications center, which dispatches police department to 911 emergencies and other calls.

The towers are already protected by fencing and other intruder alarms, but the surveillance cameras would ensure that any trespassing or tampering was monitored and followed through with assurance.

The largest expenditure of the grant, $153,000, will be used to purchase a mobile morgue for the county medical examiner. The specialized vehicle is used to provide morgue support in a mass fatality event. Mobile morgues often come with equipment for search and recovery, victim identification, DNA, fingerprints, photographic and full body x-ray capability, and more.

“It would be able to respond to disaster scenes with multiple casualties and transport up to eight bodies,” Shrom said.

Another planned purchase will enable police departments to mount license plate readers onto the front of their vehicles to determine whether or not a vehicle had been stolen.

According to Shrom, half of the estimated $190,000 cost for the readers would come from what remains of the 2010 FY grant.

The county is also looking to complete its reverse 911 emergency notification system which would notify property owners of dangerous events, such as a flood, or neighboring fire.