Sheriff says emergency paging was restored after duplexer failure; county eyes replacement and grants

Trinity County Sheriff Tim Saxon told the Board of Supervisors on June 2 that a failure in the county's aging paging system interrupted dispatch paging to several volunteer fire departments in late May.

Saxon said Day Wireless, the county's communications contractor, had identified aging components and that a duplexer controlling paging to volunteer departments on Oregon Mountain failed toward the end of May. A Day Wireless technician sourced a loaner duplexer, had it tuned to the county's frequencies and installed it during a storm; testing the next day showed pager service for affected volunteer departments had been re-established.

The sheriff said the county has budgeted for radio-system upgrades, hired a project manager to coordinate repairs and is prioritizing fire services. He reported receiving a quote just under $22,000 to replace the four duplexers located on Oregon Mountain and said staff are working with state Office of Emergency Services (OES) on potential grant funding to help cover costs.

Board members pressed for better field reporting and a closed-loop notification process after the failure: supervisors said volunteer departments need a simple checklist to report symptoms so technicians can diagnose issues sooner. The board also discussed constraints at the Oregon Mountain vault (crowded equipment causing RF interference) and long-term replacement and procurement challenges for obsolete equipment and parts.

Sheriff Saxon said the county is prioritizing repairs, that restored paging and radio service had been confirmed by county testing, but warned that many system components are near end-of-life and ongoing replacement will require sustained funding and careful equipment selection to ensure interoperability.