A newly upgraded South Plainfield Emergency Operations Center was unveiled Thursday at police headquarters.

This federal appropriation was secured to replace outdated equipment over two decades old and upgrade the Borough's Emergency Operations Center. The main draw of this is the ability to dispatch multiple firefighters, police officers and EMS at the same time - a rapid response to emergencies.

"It has been 20 years since we upgraded the systems in our operating system. The updates were comprised of a new 911 system, a new radio system, as well as enhancements that provide infrastructure and framework for future advancements down the line," said South Plainfield Police Chief Peter Papa.

The main hub is based out of South Plainfield, but the purpose is to also help neighboring towns in the area.

"It is the center of a lot of other towns that are bigger, so the fact that it's operable for the towns around them is helpful to all of Middlesex County," said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District). "Between Hurricane Helene and Milton, one of the biggest problems has been communications. In fact, in some cases, they haven't been able to get into those areas for a couple of days."

The hope is that other municipalities will see this as a model to emulate in the future.