By Tim Stonesifer, The Evening Sun
Original publication date: April 18, 2011

York County, Pa. — On the heels of a county announcement that a fix for its radio-patching problem is coming, York County emergency responders say they’re still having issues with other important radio functions as they try to fight fires.

But county officials say that part of the system is working fine, and a couple of dropped calls at fire scenes are unfortunately par for the course.

Penn Township Fire Chief Jan Cromer – long an outspoken critic of a system he says puts firefighters in danger – said this week his department continues to have problems with radio communication at fire scenes. The county’s new digital radios will sometimes fail without warning, he said, leaving firefighters in burning buildings with no link to the outside.

And there’s no rhyme or reason for where it will happen, he said, and thus no way to prepare for trouble.

Cromer said while fighting a brush fire in the Pigeon Hills a few weeks ago several firefighters at the scene lost communication – and the York County signal booster tower was right there in clear sight. That also happened at a Jackson Township fire, he said, where again the incident was very near a tower.

“I’m fed up with that, and I’m fed up with everything,” he said. “I put in some complaints last week, but I haven’t heard anything.”

Nashville Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Bryan Flemmens said he was at that incident in Jackson Township, his men trying to put out a fire in the basement when radios stopped working. Without the radios, those inside had no way to call for help or hear commands, he said.

“It’s one of the worst situations to be in,” he said.

But according to York County Spokesman Carl Lindquist, such problems – while unfortunate – are to be expected from a radio system that no one ever said would work 100 percent of the time. No system is perfect, he said, and responders at fires have other options.

The county has been suggesting firefighters change a setting on their digital radios so that they can use an analog signal that does not rely on the tower network. The analog system keeps the signal from going to a tower, Lindquist said, much like a CB radio system that operates directly from radio to radio.

“No vendor provides 100-percent coverage everywhere,” he said. “Despite that it’s as good as it gets, it isn’t perfect.”

The emergency radio system – which cost the county about $68 million in material, building and installation costs – has drawn fire almost since its inception from Hanover-area responders, who have complained of dropped or missed radio calls and pages. More recently area officials have gone further, saying the system puts firefighters’ lives in danger after responders at a fire in West Manheim Township were left with radio silence after a failed multi-county radio patch.

York County officials called that incident a “glitch,” and said it was only one of three such incidents amid thousands of successful emergency pages and calls. Officials say a fix is being implemented.

But the occasional failed patch is not the same problem as dropped radio calls, both sides say. And they seem to agree it’s also not as likely to get fixed anytime soon.

There are about 23 towers in the county that transmit a radio signal, Lindquist said, adding that, much like cell phones, radios always have a few places where the reception is bad. He said right now there are no plans for additional towers.

But Lindquist said the new system is still much better than what York County used to have, covering about 95 percent of the county now versus about 70 percent in the past. The new system boasts additional features, he said, and is much easier to service.

But what Lindquist calls progress, Cromer calls a constant concern.

Cromer said with the old analog system the fire department bought signal-enhancing repeaters for a few thousand dollars and attached them to the trucks. There was scarcely ever a problem that way, he said.

Now, Cromer said, the incident commander must stand at the scene and try to monitor two radios – one analog radio linked to the firefighters inside a building, and one digital radio linked back to county. And that’s if those inside the fire scene are able, amid the smoke and flames, to flip a switch on their radios to get to that analog channel, Cromer said.

And that’s if they even know they’re at a scene where digital reception is spotty, he said.

“My guys don’t feel as though (the new system) is better,” he said. “These radios cost all this money, and you have to still stand there and use a $50 talk-around radio feature.”

Still, some fire officials, like Chief Steve Buffington with York Fire/Rescue Services, say the new system has been a huge help in larger incidents. Because of heavy tower saturation in the city, he said, the department hasn’t come across dead spots. And in York Township, Goodwill Fire Co. Deputy Chief Brian Bastinello said his department already knows the areas where they might lose a signal, and tries to respond accordingly.

Bastinello said the department recently lost radio connection with 911 dispatchers while rescuing a bicyclist near Lake Redman. High wires in the area have proved to be a problem, he said, so responders try to adjust.

Cromer has his own characterization for a system that requires such adjustments.

“I guess for now we’re stuck with it,” he said.

The York Daily Record contributed to this report.

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