The Department of Public Safety is pleased to announce the activation of VIPER site #199 on Chunky Gal Gap in Clay County. Chunky Gal Gap is approximately an 8 mile ridge that runs between the Appalachian Trail and US 64, at Glade Gap, in the Fires Creek area.
VIPER, which stands for Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders, was first was identified in the General Assembly's Criminal Justice Information Network report of 1995 as a critical need for public safety agencies when responding to emergencies. At the time, Public Safety officials could only communicate directly with other public safety officials by relaying time-sensitive messages through numerous communication centers. The inability to receive and send critical information instantaneous was a major obstacle to the public safety community. After the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001, it became even clearer that public safety officials needed to have the ability to communicate with one another on a single radio.
“The public safety community is under constant pressure to meet the needs within their jurisdictions. The recent addition of the Chunky Gal Gap VIPER site will only strengthen those needs by putting essential communication tools in the hands of first responders which is vital to help save lives or even themselves,” said Kieran Shanahan, secretary of the Department of Public Safety.
241 total sites are planned for statewide coverage. VIPER is 83% complete with 199 sites “on the air” bringing the total number of emergency first responder users to 65,388. Currently 260 emergency responding agencies make up the 65,388 users.
The continued implementation of interoperable communications will benefit all public safety agencies when dealing with daily emergency calls or large scale disasters thus allowing fire, rescue, and law enforcement agencies better able to serve the citizens of North Carolina.
For more information on the VIPER system, please contact Captain Bobby West, State Highway Patrol at (919) 662-4440 or simply visit the website.
Phone: (919) 733-5027