Syosset Fire to give Muttontown cops pagers

Syosset Fire District officials on Tuesday said they will give the Muttontown Police Department two radio pagers with which to monitor fire calls.

The decision comes in response to a public appeal by Muttontown leaders earlier this month at a fire commissioners meeting to be kept in the loop about fire emergencies within village borders.

Muttontown Police Chief William McHale said that his officers could be of assistance if they were made aware of fire dispatches.

The two radio pagers, which are the same equipment used by firefighters to receive dispatcher calls, should be in service by the end of the month, Syosset fire officials said.

Muttontown police have two vehicles on patrol at all times.

The board of fire commissioners voted Monday to donate the pagers to Muttontown.

"They will know right away if we're in their jurisdiction and they can respond accordingly," chairman of the board Giovanni Graceffa said Tuesday.

Syosset fire superintendent Jack Randazzo met before Monday with McHale before the board meeting to suggest the solution, Graceffa said.

McHale on Tuesday called the pagers "an excellent solution" that "solves the issue completely."

Muttontown police were to pick up the equipment from Syosset later Tuesday, McHale said.

"It will allow us to be aware of everything that's going on and yet not necessarily have to respond to everything," he said.

Graceffa earlier this month said it was not fire district policy to directly notify local police of fire emergencies. The pagers would be more efficient than having firefighters call Muttontown directly during emergencies, he said Tuesday.

He called the dispute a misunderstanding and said if "the proper channels" had been used, a solution could have been reached more quickly.

"I'm happy with the results," Graceffa said.