Flagstaff Fire

[richscan]

is the Flagstaff Fired Dept migrating to the Flagstaff Trunk system or are they still using the conv system, thanks for your help Rich

 

[Phoenix805]

hmmm, good question. Guess I'll have to take a trip up north and listen for awhile. The last time I was there (about a year ago) Flag Fire was still on the old analog channels. According to Radio Reference it appears PD has moved to the new system and Fire has not. Why not? I could only make a few guesses.

First, not everyone wants to be on digital trunked systems. Phoenix Fire was one of the first fire departments in the country to do a comprehensive study on the benefits (and problems) of the new systems. They quickly realized there were serious flaws and were reluctant to move. After dragging their feet for years they did finally move half their comms to digital trunking, but still use analog for firefighting activities. On one hand it's a pain using 2 radio systems, on the other hand they have the best of both worlds. Research indicates many fire departments are sorry they moved and wish they had their old systems back.

The second thing that comes to mind is the cost and logistics. Flag now dispatches for most of the surrounding communities, much like Phoenix does in the valley. While Flag Fire could probably move to the new system with little trouble, it's a whole 'nother ball game trying to get 10-15 different communities to all convert.

A few rambling thoughts IMHO, as they say.

 

[SCPD]

The Flagstaff FD and those departments they dispatch need to interact with the Forest Service and other wildland fire agencies during mutual aid incidents. VHF is the band those agencies use. Almost all rural area fire departments use VHF and although Flagstaff is not rural, neither is it a large metro area where most trunked radio systems exist. These are reasons for the department to stay on VHF. On the other hand they need interoperability with the PD and NAU.

They can stay on VHF and a patch on the trunked system could be provided to handle communications with the PD and NAU. Another alternative would be switching to the trunked system and having patches provided to VHF. They could then carry VHF handhelds.

L.A. County FD has a UHF dispatch/command system and has VHF handhelds for tactical and wildland use. There are a number of disadvantages going this way, most especially cost. With this alternative apparatus really need mobiles for each band as the engineer's operating position needs to have tactical radio capability. The result is more radios to purchase and maintain.

For these reasons, as well as the good points Phoenix805 raised, I don't see them moving to the trunked system. In my opinion fire departments that don't have a high rise building component in their jurisdictions should remain on VHF. The reflective and penetration capability of the higher bands are needed for high rise buildings. If all the other departments stay on VHF then widespread interoperability is achieved.

 

[richscan]

thx for your quick responses, reason i asked is Flag fire is listed as on of Flag pd talk groups Rich

 

[APSN556]

Flagstaff FD still patches ALL calls to VHF. The only time they use the P25 exclusively is for fire ground comms during a working fire. They had hoped to drop VHF altogether, but Guardian transport has not yet equipped their rigs with the right radios. It doesn't look like they will anytime soon either.

 

[Phoenix805]

Thanks Chad,
and you have a great web page. I'll be listening in from time to time.

 

[richscan]

thx for your responses they were a great help- Rich