. >> our ken molestina visited with fairfax county rescuers who showed us how far emergency communicationas come in nearly a decade. >> violence. can't talk to policeman. can't talk to rescue workers and medical personnel. people die. >> reporter: that finding has forced emergeny responders to figure out a way to talk to one another despite the department or jurisdiction they work for. recently those efforts on a nationwide level have fallen short, according to the members of the 9/11 commission. >> ten years we still can't talk to each other when disaster strikes. >> reporter: but one group of first responders here in our area said that tough talk doesn't apply to them. >> global command 430 to incident command. how do you copy? >> i copy loud and clear. >> reporter: first responders have come a long way in a decade. >> the command units were less -- had less capabilities. they had radios, but they didn't have some of the other functionality we have today. >> reporter: james wadsworth says fairfax county has achieved radio systems already in place that allow police officers, firefighters