Politics & Government

River Edge Lightning Detection System Good To Go Once Minor Glitches Resolved

According to Borough Officials, the newly installed lightning detection system is "good to go" once some minor glitches are worked out. 

Bobbi Conway, Director of Recreation, appeared before the Mayor and Council Monday explaining that the the systems were all in place, they were just working on a glitch in the OEM computer system's ability to send text messages when the alarm went off. 

Following the 2006 deaths of two Montvale teenagers struck by lightning while running to take shelter from a storm, and a 71-year old man attending his grandson's soccer game Demarest in 2012, many Bergen County towns are looking to install lighting detection systems on their fields. 

River Edge has installed a central station transmitter at Fire Co. 1. The system is hooked up to the Office of Emergency Management and the Police Department. According to Mayor Sandy Moscaritolo, the system was designed with the capacity to cover all the outdoor recreation areas.

According to Conway, the system detects lighting within a certain radius, automatically triggering an alarm when lightning falls within the predetermined radius. 

The system will be activated from 6 a.m. to 11p.m. The siren differs from the sound of a fire alarm in that it is a high pitch notification that sounds for 18 seconds and activates a strobe light. All clear is signaled with a fog horn.

The Strike Guard Lightning Warning System is being purchased jointly by the municipalities of River Edge and New Milford, along with their Boards of Education. The system can keep track of lightning between clouds and hitting the ground up to 20 miles away. 

According to Moscaritolo, the cost of the transmitter is approximately $26,000 which will be shared by all participants. The cost of the equipment at each remote location will be paid by the individual entity owning the property. 

The inter-local agreement is between the Borough of River Edge, the Borough of New Milford, the River Edge Board of Education and the New Milford Board of Education.

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Moscaritolo said that the system has been designed so that each outdoor recreation field will be equipped with a audible siren and a strobe. Each remote location will be sent a signal from the central transmitter when it detects lightning within a certain distance of not less than 5 miles. The activation of the siren and lights will give the public advance notice to get off the fields and find shelter. 

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