Hundreds of first responders attend forum on Washington Co.无毛视频檚 new emergency radio system
More than 200 firefighters, police officers and paramedics from across Washington County packed into South Franklin无毛视频檚 fire hall Wednesday night to learn more about the county无毛视频檚 new emergency radio system, with many coming away from the meeting encouraged while others still had questions about how it could impact their operations.
The two-hour meeting briefly touched on a variety of topics, including how the new Motorola Solutions system will function when it无毛视频檚 operational in late 2026 or early 2027, along with how the county无毛视频檚 public safety committee and its consultant plan to implement it.
无毛视频淭his has been a really, really long time in coming,无毛视频� county Commission Chairman Nick Sherman told the group gathered in the fire department无毛视频檚 social hall. 无毛视频淲e saw there were connectivity issues (with the radio current system).无毛视频�
In September, the commissioners approved the $24.445 million contract with Motorola, with Sherman and Electra Janis voting in favor and Larry Maggi voting against it. Sherman and Janis helped to lead Wednesday无毛视频檚 meeting and spoke briefly, while Maggi had a prior commitment and was unable to attend.
The biggest concern from fire departments, many of them made up of volunteers and working on tight budgets, is the ability to purchase new handheld and mobile radios that are compatible with the Motorola system. Sherman said the contract includes 无毛视频渟ubscriber units无毛视频� for the departments, but they would also look to use Local Share Account gambling revenue grants and federal funding to help supplement any shortfalls.
There were also many questions from rural fire departments asking whether there would be reliable radio coverage in the sparsely populated areas where they work.
无毛视频淚f you don无毛视频檛 have coverage, your radio is a brick,无毛视频� said Scott Neal, who is the program manager for Mission Critical Partners that advised the county on the process and is now helping to implement it. 无毛视频淓veryone is going to be on the same system. It无毛视频檚 going to be countywide.无毛视频�
Neal and John Breon, who is Motorola无毛视频檚 project manager overseeing installation of the county无毛视频檚 new radio system, both said there will be 95% coverage using mobile radios typically found in vehicles and 90% reliability using handheld portable radios. But there were still some areas on the maps Breon presented showing less coverage in the southern and western areas of the county.
无毛视频淩ight now, we无毛视频檙e in the infancy stage of the project,无毛视频� Breon said.
Once construction is complete, he said Motorola representatives will be going out into the field with Mission Critical workers and local officials testing quarter-mile quadrants to ensure that all areas have adequate coverage, even if they need to add 无毛视频渞epeaters无毛视频� to bolster the digital signal coming from 14 radio towers spread out around the county.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 going to be a heckuva lot better than what you have now,无毛视频� Neal said while admitting there might be some dead spots. 无毛视频淲e will talk with the county about what kind of enhancements they will need to make.无毛视频�
The system will be using an 800 MHz signal rather than VHF, which the panel said is better suited for the county无毛视频檚 needs, even though the latter is better to transmit over hilly terrain. The digital signal will also be more reliable for longer range, the panel claimed, although unlike analog that still offers some communication abilities even as it fades, digital drops completely once it无毛视频檚 out of range.
Westmoreland and Fayette counties are using the 800 MHz digital system 无毛视频� with Allegheny County in the process of implementing it 无毛视频� and can be hooked into Washington County无毛视频檚 radio system, if needed. But there were concerns from departments along the Greene County line to the south and West Virginia border to the west since those use VHF, raising questions if firefighters on the boundaries will have to maintain two sets of radios while coordinating mutual aid.
Morris Township firefighters submitted a question asking 无毛视频渋f this system works in Peters and North Strabane, how will it work无毛视频� for their department. Sherman said the radio system should function in every community, and promised they would work hard to ensure it does when they implement it.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e going to work the same everywhere,无毛视频� Sherman said, noting that the current radio system has shown limitations in populous places such as North Strabane. 无毛视频淭here are peaks and valleys everywhere.无毛视频�
After attending the meeting, Morris Township fire Chief Dave Dietrich said he was encouraged about the radio system, although he still had some reservations.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 thinking if it无毛视频檚 going to do everything they say it无毛视频檚 going to do, I think it无毛视频檚 going to be a good thing,无毛视频� Dietrich said. 无毛视频淚f it doesn无毛视频檛 improve or even gets worse, I think we无毛视频檙e all in trouble, or at least some of us are. But they seemed to have a plan and know what they无毛视频檙e talking about. I hate to say it, but our fate is in their hands.无毛视频�
He said they might have to reconfigure some of their radio systems in order to communicate with mutual aid stations in Greene County, which they will have to figure out as they move forward with the new radio system.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 just hoping what they无毛视频檙e telling us, they无毛视频檒l hold to their word on that and make sure it无毛视频檚 right before they (finish),无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 guess we无毛视频檒l just have to wait. Time will tell. We无毛视频檒l keep a positive attitude.无毛视频�
North Strabane Director of Public Safety Mark Grimm was pleased with Wednesday night无毛视频檚 presentation and thought the turnout showed great interest in the project.
无毛视频淭his project is long overdue,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been dealing with radio issues for probably well over 15 years and there never seemed to be a fix. 无毛视频� The biggest thing is not only is it a benefit for first responder safety, but also for our residents. I was impressed by it and I无毛视频檓 looking forward to it and we无毛视频檒l see where it goes from here.无毛视频�
Canonsburg fire Chief Tim Solobay, who served as state fire commissioner a decade ago, came to the presentation skeptical of the radio project but left with an optimistic outlook.
无毛视频淚f everything happens the way they say it无毛视频檒l happen, then it would be impressive,无毛视频� Solobay said.
He wanted to hear more about why a previous radio system designed by MRA Inc. of North Strabane was rejected since the county had already spent nearly $9 million on equipment in 2023. The commissioners approved a $22.545 million contract with MRA in March 2023, but Sherman preferred the Motorola system, so he worked to terminate that contract last year and move forward with the current plan.
无毛视频淚t was never addressed on why they canceled that contract,无毛视频� Solobay said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 hoping for the best, I really am. We do need newer technology and more accountable, reliable communication. We maybe didn无毛视频檛 have a lot of the issues, per se here in the center of the county as much as the outskirts or the rural areas of the county, but we still had our issues.无毛视频�
Solobay, like many of the other first responders attending Wednesday night无毛视频檚 meeting, are ready to move forward with the county无毛视频檚 plans with hopes it will work out for the best.
无毛视频淭he proof will be in the pudding. Hopefully all the promises made will be promises kept,无毛视频� Solobay said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 still a lot of unanswered stuff until the old light switch gets turned on.无毛视频�
Another educational forum will be held later this year to discuss specifications for the mobile and handheld radios, although the date of that meeting has not yet been set.