[Scan-DC] Hanover-area fire departments look for radio fix

[Alan Henney]

http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_12975161

Hanover-area fire departments look for radio fix

After 911 switchover, a Harris representative said another antenna might be needed to boost coverage in southwestern York County.

By TED CZECH
Daily Record/Sunday News
Updated: 08/01/2009 11:21:49 PM EDT

York County's new digital radio system has received praise from many fire chiefs; however, fire companies in the southwestern corner of the county say it has severely hampered their radio transmissions.

In the months preceding the cut-over for York County's fire and EMS agencies Wednesday, Hanover fire officials tested out the new radios and found they could not hear or send transmissions inside borough buildings.

With the old Legacy system, Hanover firefighters could talk to each other directly, but with the new system, radio messages must transmit to an antenna about four miles away, then back to the receiving radio.

Having working radios is necessary for firefighters' safety, said Howard Billig, president of the Greater Hanover Professional Firefighters union.

"In a fire, we can't tell what's going on on the outside and a commander can't tell what's going on on the inside," he said. "We need that communication; it's a life-and-death situation."

On Friday, officials from Hanover, Penn Township, Manheim Township and other southwestern municipalities met with Mike Brown, a representative from Harris, formerly M/A-COM and Tyco.

"We presented him with some of our concerns," Billig said. "They (Harris) do acknowledge the problems, they always have. . . . He assured us they are working on the problem."

Billig said there were more immediate solutions proposed by Brown, such as reprogramming radios used by the departments in that area of the
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county.

In the longer term, Brown talked of installing another antenna, Billig said.

"They're trying to figure out where to put it," in addition to determining out how much it's going to cost, Billig said. "As soon as that's all figured out, he assured us the antenna could be installed within six months or less."

Hanover Fire Commissioner Jim Roth said he was encouraged by Brown's talk of a new antenna, "as long as they put it in Hanover borough," although he said an antenna on top of the McSherrystown water tower might work as well.

In an e-mail sent Friday, Eric Bistline, executive director for the York County Office of Emergency Management, said the county commissioners are "well aware of the 'concerns' that have been expressed to us by the public safety providers in the southwestern part of the county and to that end, we are continuing to research possible alternatives in that region, to include the addition of an additional radio and paging site somewhere in that area of the county that would serve to improve upon the coverage in those areas."

Bistline said no decision has yet been made but a detailed design proposal is being developed at the county's request by Harris and Sonik Messaging, the county's digital paging vendor, for consideration.

Because of their predicament, Hanover and other departments in that area will be first in line for the installation of mobiles -- radios inside fire trucks and SUVs -- which begins Aug. 10.

Bistline said two installation teams, consisting of four to five technicians, will then travel from west to east across the southern part of the county, then the northern part and finishing up in the central part of the county. He said he expected the work to be done by late October or early November.

Police and EMS already have their mobiles installed. Once all the work is done, there will be more than 1,700 mobiles and more than 2,700 portables (hand-held) operating in the county, Bistline said.

tczech at ydr.com; 771-2033.

OVERALL, SMOOTH TRANSITION FOR FIRE, EMS

Testing of York County's new, $36 million 911 system -- manufactured and installed by Harris (then known as M/A-COM) -- began in early 2008, and York County's police departments switched to the new system that fall.

Several glitches occurred, including lost or garbled transmissions, prompting York County to request that the installer send several technicians to come to the 911 Center to work on the system.

The system endured two 30-day tests -- set up to pave the way for fire and EMS -- nearly passing the first one in April-May. The second one ran all the way through, ending June 15.

Fire and EMS agencies cut-over Wednesday in a sort of Verizon, "Can you hear me now?" moment, said Eric Bistline, executive director for the York County Office of Emergency Management. York County 911 dispatchers called duty chiefs at each of the fire stations in the county, who then answered back, he said.

Manchester Township Fire Chief Richard Shank said of the cut-over, "There really was no problem at all, it was really seamless, from the old system to the new system."

Bistline said in an e-mail Friday that the county had seen about four to five equipment problems reported since the cut-over but no system or coverage issues since then. "In fact, we have fielded a number of positive comments coming back to us from field users with respect to quality of the audio and coverage of the new system," he said.