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Fire and EMS association urges encryption of fire channels; county weighs $55,000 reprogramming cost
Summary
Fire and EMS leaders told commissioners that public scanning apps have picked up fire dispatches and asked the county to fund encryption and standardize radio programming. Staff estimated the countywide effort to reprogram radios at roughly $55,000 and warned of logistical hurdles.
Representatives of the county's fire and EMS community told commissioners that publicly available apps and scanners have been capturing fire dispatch traffic and sometimes spreading inaccurate information. A Fire & EMS Association representative (speaker 8) said encryption is a safety and privacy measure and urged the commission to provide funding for reprogramming.
"It's estimated between, like I said, the Motorola people and the Kenwood people, somewhere in the neighborhood of about $55,000 is the fix," the association representative said, describing vendor quotes for on-site reprogramming and Kenwood's requirement to bring radios to certain locations.
Speakers described operational complications: inconsistent programming across departments has produced false emergency-button activations, and encryption will require careful, staged coordination so agencies can continue interoperable communications during the transition. Staff discussed vendor logistics, noting Motorola proposed on-site programming at multiple stations while Kenwood would need radio collection at a few hubs.
Commissioners did not approve funding at the work session but discussed options to include the expense in the current or next year's budget. Staff said the county can lock prices if they move quickly; a follow-up budget item was proposed for the next formal meeting.
