Lawrence firefighters know their safety depends on being able to communicate. Now there's a new tool to help them do so, a van packed with communications equipment that can let fire departments from all over talk to each other during an emergency.
"It's going to be a lifesaver. It actually is," said Larry Foote, a communications specialist with the Lawrence Fire Department.
It's training and equipment he wishes he had when houses began exploding and fires erupted in the Merrimack Valley last year.
"I guarantee we probably missed some communications," he said.
On that day, the hundreds of firefighters converging on Lawrence had just one radio channel to talk on.
During the hectic first hours of the disaster, Lawrence Fire Chief Brian Moriarty ordered everyone to only talk when necessary.