On Massachusetts’s northern shore, the Marblehead Harbormaster Department’s team of 12 employees, led by Harbormaster Mark Souza, patrol an expansive stretch of coastline — the North Shore region of Massachusetts.
When there is an emergency on the water, the on-call team relies on dispatcher notifications to respond. However, geographic constraints limited Souza’s connection to the town's fiber-optic internet.
“In the past, we've used hot spots. That's great for the day-to-day stuff for the guys, but it's not going to give us the data that we need on a regular basis,” explained Souza.
Since 2022, Souza and his team have relied on FirstNet devices to ensure dispatch calls come through quickly and clearly. With the network’s priority capabilities, Souza and his team always have connectivity, allowing them to talk, text, and share data for situational awareness.
“We can be out on the water, and I can relay messages to the other communities or other assets. It can be Coast Guard, state police, environmental police, surrounding fire departments — anything,” said Souza. “That is the number one priority.”
In July, when thousands of tourists lined up around Marblehead Harbor for the fireworks celebrating America250, Souza and his team relied on their FirstNet devices to stay connected to each other.
Command post on the water
The department recently launched the Stacey H. Clark, built by Munson Marine out of Washington State, a patrol boat equipped with full firefighting gear, machinery to remove water from a flooding boat, and more. With these advanced features, the ship has become a force multiplier for the Marblehead Harbormaster Department.
The department plans to further enhance the boat by expanding their use of FirstNet, by installing an antenna on the Stacey H. Clark that will be able to transmit at six times the power setting of regular mobile devices. This technology, known as high-powered user equipment (HPUE), will take up less space onboard and provide a longer range than previous generations — one nearby department reported streaming videos as far as seven miles offshore. This technology will run on FirstNet, the only nationwide broadband network authorized to give access to HPUE. Once these upgrades are in place, Marblehead’s public safety professionals will be able to travel farther offshore without having to worry about losing signal strength.
Looking to the future, Souza’s goal is to not only serve the Marblehead community but be a command post for the region. Since Marblehead is situated between Boston, Gloucester, and Salem, Stacey H. Clark can serve as a command post for multiple agencies. If a major emergency disrupts landside infrastructure, Souza’s team can relay information out on the water.
With cutting-edge technology and FirstNet connectivity, the Marblehead Harbormaster Department is well-prepared to become the connecting point for public safety on the northern shore.
Header photos: Marblehead Independent | Paula Muller