New Montage Health building installs radio system to eliminate dead zones

ACTION NEWS 8 REPORTER PAUL DUDLEY HAS MORE FROM MONTEREY’S RYAN RANCH..### NAT POP FROM THE … AT THE NEW MONTAGE BUILDING…NEARING COMPLETION.. IN MONTEREY.. THERE’S EQUIPMENT YOU’LL PROBABLY NEVER NOTICE… BUT FIRST RESPONDERS SAY IT SAVES LIVES… THE “EMERGENCY RESPONDER RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM”…IS DESIGNED TO MAKE SURE POLICE… FIREFIGHTERS …AND E-M-TS NEVER LOSE RADIO COVERAGE.. THE NEED FOR THESE SYSTEMS BECAME CLEAR AFTER 9/11….INSIDE THE WORLD TRADE CENTER – FIREFIGHTER RADIOS DID ááNOTáá WORK. ELIA BETBADAL, SAFER BUILDING COALITION AND CEO OF DAS SYSTEMS : “AS THE BUILDING “AS THE BUILDING WAS ON FIRE… NEW YORK CITY FIRE DEPT WAS SENDING PERSONNEL UP THE BUILDING TO TELL THEM TO EVACUATE BECAUSE THERE WAS NO RADIO COVERAGE AND BY THE TIME THEY ACTUALLY GOT UP THERE THE BUILDING COLLAPSED AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.” BUTTED “THERE WAS NO “THERE WAS NO COVERAGE INSIDE THOSE BUILDINGS..THESE SYSTEMS WEREN’T EVEN A THING BACK THEN.” MONTAGE WAS REQUIRED TO INSTALL THE SYSTEM …AFTER TESTING REVEALED DEAD ZONES THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING.. THE EQUIPMENT… ENHANCES THE UPLINK AND DOWNLINK FOR FIRST RESPONDERS…KEEPING CREWS CONNECTED INSIDE OF BUILDINGS WHERE RADIO SIGNAL NORMALLY FAILS. ELIA BETBADAL, SAFER BUILDING COALITION AND CEO OF DAS SYSTEMS : “WE GRAB THE “WE GRAB THE SIGNAL FROM A TOWER ..LIKE A MACRO SITE…AND WE BRING THE SIGNAL INTO THE BUILDING… WE HAVE A REPEATER THAT SENDS AND RECEIVES THE SIGNAL ..WITHIN THE BUILDING IN BUILDING ANTENNAS ..AND WE PLACE THEM STRATEGICALLY THROUGH THE BUILDING TO MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO DEAD ZONES.” IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED 9/11…NATIONAL BUILDING AND FIRE CODES CHANGED….NEW AND EVENTUALLY EXISTING LARGE BUILDINGS WERE REQUIRED TO BE TESTED FOR RADIO COVERAGE… .TODAY – ANY STRUCTURE LARGER THAN 25,000 SQUARE FEET MUST PASS THAT TEST….FAIL – AND THE OWNER MUST INSTALL A SYSTEM LIKE THIS ONE. JUSTIN COOPER, DIVISION CHIEF AT MONTEREY FIRE: BUTTED “COMMUNICATION IS ONE OF THE MAJOR FAILURES ..WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT LINE OF DUTIES DEATHS…”BUTTED “AS BUILDINGS ARE BEING BUILT ..YOU KNOW.. THEY ARE TYPICALLY MULTI-STORY BUILDINGS, THEY ARE LARGE BUILDINGS ..THERE IS A LOT OF CONCRETE AND STEEL THAT ARE BEING USED IN THESE BUILDINGS THAT AFFECTS OUR COMMUNICATIONS…” WHILE THE REQUIREMENT HAS BEEN IN PLACE FOR YEARS, PANDEMIC-RELATED DELAYS MEANT LOCAL ENFORCEMENT FELL BEHIND…UNTIL NOW. JUSTIN COOPER, DIVISION CHIEF AT MONTEREY FIRE: “FOR US IT IS “FOR US IT IS ABOUT EDUCATION. WHEN WE ARE OUT DOING OUR INSPECTION AND WE IDENTIFY GAPS IN RADIO COVERAGE ..WE WILL LET BUILDING OWNERS KNOW ..WE WHEN ARE DEALING WITH THESE LARGE BUILDINGS…THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE THEIR BUILDING TESTED.” THESE SYSTEMS CAN RANGE IN PRICE… ACCORDING TO ONE COMPANY…ON THE LOWER END ..CLOSE TO 50-THOUSAND DOLLARS .. BIG PROJECTS CAN COST MILLIONS…A STEEP PRICE…BUT OFFICIALS SAY.. IT IS FAR LESS THAN THE COST OF A FAILED RESPONSE… DUDLEY : “WHAT : “WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO SAY ‘THIS IS JUST AN OVER REGULATION IN CALIFORNIA AND ACROSS THE NATION? WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THOSE PEOPLE? ELIA BETBADAL, SAFER BUILDING COALITION AND CEO OF DAS SYSTEMS : “WHAT IS THE COST OF SOMEONE’S LIFE? RIGHT. AND IT REALLY COMES NOW TO HOW TO QUANTIFY THAT. AND SO THESE DEAD ZONES ARE EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE? DEADZONES.” BUTTED JUSTIN BUTTED JUSTIN COOPER, DIVISION CHIEF AT MONTEREY FIRE: “FIRE FIGHTERS ARE RISKING THEIR LIVES GOING TO BUILDINGS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY ON FIRE ..AND WHERE WE CAN MAKE IT SAFER FOR THEM ..IS FIXING THE COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES ..THATS WHY IT IS SO PIVO

New Montage Health building installs radio system to eliminate dead zones

Updated: 6:20 PM PST Jan 9, 2026

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A new building nearing completion at the Montage Health campus in Monterey is being equipped with an emergency responder radio communication system to ensure first responders maintain radio coverage during an emergency, addressing gaps identified after 9/11.The system, installed in the building focused on cardiology and general surgery, aims to prevent communication failures that could endanger lives. The need for such systems became evident after the 9/11 attacks when firefighter radios failed inside the World Trade Center. Elia Betbadal, CEO of DAS Systems and a member of the Safer Building Coalition, explained, “As the building was on fire, New York City Fire Dept was sending personnel up the building to tell them to evacuate because there was no radio coverage and by the time they actually got up there the building collapsed and you know what happened,” adding, “there was no coverage inside those buildings, these systems weren’t even a thing back then.”Montage was required to install the system after testing revealed dead zones throughout the building. The equipment enhances the uplink and downlink for first responders, keeping crews connected inside buildings where radio signals normally fail. Betbadal described the process: “We grab the signal from a tower, like a macro site, and we bring the signal into the building, we have a repeater that sends and receives the signal within the building in building antennas, and we place them strategically through the building to make sure there are no dead zones.”Following 9/11, national building and fire codes changed, requiring new and eventually existing large buildings to be tested for radio coverage. Today, any structure larger than 25,000 square feet must pass that test, or the owner must install a system like this one. Justin Cooper, Division Chief at Monterey Fire, emphasized the importance of communication, saying, “Communication is one of the major failures when you start talking about line of duties deaths,” and noted, “As buildings are being built, they are typically multi-story buildings, they are large buildings, there is a lot of concrete and steel that are being used in these buildings that affects our communications.”While the requirement has been in place for years, pandemic-related delays meant local enforcement fell behind until now. Cooper explained, “For us it is about education. When we are out doing our inspection and we identify gaps in radio coverage, we will let building owners know, when we are dealing with these large buildings, that they need to have their building tested.”These systems can range in price, with costs starting at around $50,000 and reaching into the millions for larger projects. Despite the expense, officials argue it is far less than the cost of a failed response. Betbadal questioned, “What is the cost of someone’s life? Right. And it really comes down to how to quantify that. And so, these dead zones are exactly what they are. Dead zones.”Cooper added, “Fire fighters are risking their lives going to buildings that are potentially on fire, and where we can make it safer for them is fixing the communications issues, that’s why it is so pivotal for us to get these systems in these buildings.”

MONTEREY, Calif. —

A new building nearing completion at the Montage Health campus in Monterey is being equipped with an emergency responder radio communication system to ensure first responders maintain radio coverage during an emergency, addressing gaps identified after 9/11.

The system, installed in the building focused on cardiology and general surgery, aims to prevent communication failures that could endanger lives. The need for such systems became evident after the 9/11 attacks when firefighter radios failed inside the World Trade Center. Elia Betbadal, CEO of DAS Systems and a member of the Safer Building Coalition, explained, “As the building was on fire, New York City Fire Dept was sending personnel up the building to tell them to evacuate because there was no radio coverage and by the time they actually got up there the building collapsed and you know what happened,” adding, “there was no coverage inside those buildings, these systems weren’t even a thing back then.”

Montage was required to install the system after testing revealed dead zones throughout the building. The equipment enhances the uplink and downlink for first responders, keeping crews connected inside buildings where radio signals normally fail. Betbadal described the process: “We grab the signal from a tower, like a macro site, and we bring the signal into the building, we have a repeater that sends and receives the signal within the building in building antennas, and we place them strategically through the building to make sure there are no dead zones.”

Following 9/11, national building and fire codes changed, requiring new and eventually existing large buildings to be tested for radio coverage. Today, any structure larger than 25,000 square feet must pass that test, or the owner must install a system like this one. Justin Cooper, Division Chief at Monterey Fire, emphasized the importance of communication, saying, “Communication is one of the major failures when you start talking about line of duties deaths,” and noted, “As buildings are being built, they are typically multi-story buildings, they are large buildings, there is a lot of concrete and steel that are being used in these buildings that affects our communications.”

While the requirement has been in place for years, pandemic-related delays meant local enforcement fell behind until now. Cooper explained, “For us it is about education. When we are out doing our inspection and we identify gaps in radio coverage, we will let building owners know, when we are dealing with these large buildings, that they need to have their building tested.”

These systems can range in price, with costs starting at around $50,000 and reaching into the millions for larger projects. Despite the expense, officials argue it is far less than the cost of a failed response. Betbadal questioned, “What is the cost of someone’s life? Right. And it really comes down to how to quantify that. And so, these dead zones are exactly what they are. Dead zones.”

Cooper added, “Fire fighters are risking their lives going to buildings that are potentially on fire, and where we can make it safer for them is fixing the communications issues, that’s why it is so pivotal for us to get these systems in these buildings.”

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