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Commissioners request vendor demonstration after intermittent radio and dispatch problems
Summary
County and fire/EMS officials reported intermittent radio and dispatch failures, including pages without voice and switching/trunking issues; commissioners asked the vendor (Red Tail) to demonstrate call handling and agreed to involve the fire chiefs to determine whether equipment or operations are causing delays.
Daniels County officials and fire/EMS representatives described sporadic radio and dispatch problems during the Nov. 17 meeting, reporting occasions when pages went through but voice communication did not. Participants said the system sometimes appeared to be on trunking channels or switching between systems, causing delayed or absent responses when crews were leaving the scene.
Commissioners and responders asked staff to bring Red Tail (vendor) or the dispatch operator in for a demonstration of how calls are processed and how consoles/trunking operate so fire chiefs and county officials can observe and identify whether the cause is equipment, trunking configuration or operator procedure. County staff said state technicians previously tested radios and that some consoles had been replaced, but intermittent failures persist. The board recommended scheduling a demonstration with vendor representatives and having both fire chiefs attend.
No formal operational changes were adopted at the meeting; commissioners directed staff to arrange the vendor demonstration and to report back with findings and recommended next steps.
Next steps: staff to contact Red Tail and request an on-site demonstration of call handling and trunking behavior; fire chiefs and county officials will attend and evaluate system performance.
