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SacBee.com article about the radio upgrade...
"The head of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has blasted the way the county's radio communication system is being updated, saying it jeopardizes public safety and puts the lives of firefighters and other emergency workers at risk.
"The situation has become critical to public safety," Chief Don Mette said recently in a sharply worded letter to county officials.
Mette said there have been times when there were not enough channels to adequately serve firefighters and law enforcement officials. He also said the system sometimes has spotty reception, even in populated areas.
In the June 30 letter to Patrick Groff, chief information officer for the county Office of Communication and Information Technology, Mette warned he would hold county officials liable for any resulting injuries to firefighters.
"I must advise you that if any of my personnel are injured as a result of this inefficient, ineffective, and incompetent radio system, both you, in your individual capacity and the County of Sacramento will be subjected to civil liability," the chief wrote.
Groff acknowledged some problems, but noted that some already have been dealt with and that efforts are under way to resolve the others.
"We absolutely understand the public safety and the safety of the officers and firefighters and are taking this very seriously," he said.
Mette's concerns stem from updating a system that involves 14,000 radios used by police and sheriff's deputies, firefighters, garbage collectors and other local government employees. The upgrade began April 24 and is scheduled to be completed late this month or in early August.
"There are many complaints about the radio going out of range or being bonked when the radio will not allow them to transmit," Mette said in his letter.
Mette wrote the letter after Metro Fire personnel working an apartment fire June 29 on Marconi Avenue east of Watt Avenue received an "out of range" signal for their radios. He said a fire engine had to be moved before the radios would work.
"In the heat of battle you don't want to move your vehicle around," Mette said.
Capt. Mark Thomsen, information technology manager for Metro Fire, said Thursday that reprogramming the system from analog to digital is costing $8 million, including a $6 million federal grant and $2 million from a consortium of local fire and law enforcement agencies.
To update the system, the 25 channels that public safety and other local government employees had been using to communicate with dispatchers were temporarily reduced to 12 to allow technicians to update the other half of the system, Groff said.
"There have been some challenges going from 25 channels to 12," Groff said in an interview Wednesday.
In his letter, Mette asked for at least five radio channels to be added back into the system immediately.
Groff said the five channels were back in service the day after Mette's letter was sent, and all 25 will be restored eventually.
He said the county has been working with various public safety agencies to find ways to work with fewer channels.
"I think reception has improved, but we still have moments when it is out of range," Mette said Thursday. "I can't say it has improved 100 percent, but it has improved some."
County officials are working with Motorola, the equipment provider, to update the system.
Incoming Elk Grove Fire Chief Steve Foster said Thursday that the communications system covers all fire and law enforcement agencies in Sacramento County.
"Good communications is paramount to what we do," Foster said. "Not having good communications is a situation that shouts, 'watch out,' " he said.
"I think we are making progress," Groff said. "We want to get through this transition as fast as we can and shut the old system off."
Mette said this week that more work needs to be done to address such matters as reception problems, particularly in the Rancho Murieta area and south county. Acknowledging the additional channels put back into service Saturday, Mette said, "It seems like they are being more receptive."
"If your radios aren't working, it is a matter of the firefighters' safety or the safety of the public," Mette said. "It's not a time you want to be messing around trying to figure out why your radio isn't working."
Sgt. R.L. Davis of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said Thursday that deputies in the field have had "some similar experiences with our radios and people getting out of range with radios. I know they (county technicians) have been working on the issues."
Davis said that the times when deputies had problems with their radios they were able to "wait a second and rekey it and the radio would come through."
Deputy Chief Ron Phillips of the Folsom Fire Department said Thursday that, "We have had many of the same issues as Metro Fire regarding radio signal strength, especially in the foothill sections of the city."
Phillips said he would agree with Mette that the situation has improved.
"I think everybody is working hard to find a solution," he said.
He said there have been some signal strength issues on a couple of fires, "but nothing we were not able to overcome at the scene."
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, the city police and fire departments, the Folsom and Elk Grove fire departments and Metro Fire are among a variety of agencies in the Sacramento Regional Communication Radio System.
Link to letter sent to the Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/static/richmedia/pdf/0707fire01.pdf
original story link
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14275600p-15085187c.html
source
http://www.sacbee.com
"The head of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District has blasted the way the county's radio communication system is being updated, saying it jeopardizes public safety and puts the lives of firefighters and other emergency workers at risk.
"The situation has become critical to public safety," Chief Don Mette said recently in a sharply worded letter to county officials.
Mette said there have been times when there were not enough channels to adequately serve firefighters and law enforcement officials. He also said the system sometimes has spotty reception, even in populated areas.
In the June 30 letter to Patrick Groff, chief information officer for the county Office of Communication and Information Technology, Mette warned he would hold county officials liable for any resulting injuries to firefighters.
"I must advise you that if any of my personnel are injured as a result of this inefficient, ineffective, and incompetent radio system, both you, in your individual capacity and the County of Sacramento will be subjected to civil liability," the chief wrote.
Groff acknowledged some problems, but noted that some already have been dealt with and that efforts are under way to resolve the others.
"We absolutely understand the public safety and the safety of the officers and firefighters and are taking this very seriously," he said.
Mette's concerns stem from updating a system that involves 14,000 radios used by police and sheriff's deputies, firefighters, garbage collectors and other local government employees. The upgrade began April 24 and is scheduled to be completed late this month or in early August.
"There are many complaints about the radio going out of range or being bonked when the radio will not allow them to transmit," Mette said in his letter.
Mette wrote the letter after Metro Fire personnel working an apartment fire June 29 on Marconi Avenue east of Watt Avenue received an "out of range" signal for their radios. He said a fire engine had to be moved before the radios would work.
"In the heat of battle you don't want to move your vehicle around," Mette said.
Capt. Mark Thomsen, information technology manager for Metro Fire, said Thursday that reprogramming the system from analog to digital is costing $8 million, including a $6 million federal grant and $2 million from a consortium of local fire and law enforcement agencies.
To update the system, the 25 channels that public safety and other local government employees had been using to communicate with dispatchers were temporarily reduced to 12 to allow technicians to update the other half of the system, Groff said.
"There have been some challenges going from 25 channels to 12," Groff said in an interview Wednesday.
In his letter, Mette asked for at least five radio channels to be added back into the system immediately.
Groff said the five channels were back in service the day after Mette's letter was sent, and all 25 will be restored eventually.
He said the county has been working with various public safety agencies to find ways to work with fewer channels.
"I think reception has improved, but we still have moments when it is out of range," Mette said Thursday. "I can't say it has improved 100 percent, but it has improved some."
County officials are working with Motorola, the equipment provider, to update the system.
Incoming Elk Grove Fire Chief Steve Foster said Thursday that the communications system covers all fire and law enforcement agencies in Sacramento County.
"Good communications is paramount to what we do," Foster said. "Not having good communications is a situation that shouts, 'watch out,' " he said.
"I think we are making progress," Groff said. "We want to get through this transition as fast as we can and shut the old system off."
Mette said this week that more work needs to be done to address such matters as reception problems, particularly in the Rancho Murieta area and south county. Acknowledging the additional channels put back into service Saturday, Mette said, "It seems like they are being more receptive."
"If your radios aren't working, it is a matter of the firefighters' safety or the safety of the public," Mette said. "It's not a time you want to be messing around trying to figure out why your radio isn't working."
Sgt. R.L. Davis of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said Thursday that deputies in the field have had "some similar experiences with our radios and people getting out of range with radios. I know they (county technicians) have been working on the issues."
Davis said that the times when deputies had problems with their radios they were able to "wait a second and rekey it and the radio would come through."
Deputy Chief Ron Phillips of the Folsom Fire Department said Thursday that, "We have had many of the same issues as Metro Fire regarding radio signal strength, especially in the foothill sections of the city."
Phillips said he would agree with Mette that the situation has improved.
"I think everybody is working hard to find a solution," he said.
He said there have been some signal strength issues on a couple of fires, "but nothing we were not able to overcome at the scene."
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, the city police and fire departments, the Folsom and Elk Grove fire departments and Metro Fire are among a variety of agencies in the Sacramento Regional Communication Radio System.
Link to letter sent to the Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/static/richmedia/pdf/0707fire01.pdf
original story link
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14275600p-15085187c.html
source
http://www.sacbee.com
