Updates
to the still unresolved
Digital Radio Fiasco
Please Note:  
This Web site and nsfd.net are "owned" and operated by Frank Benn, not the Nottawa-Sherman Fire Department.  The viewpoints and opinions below are not necessarily supported by all  members of the Nottawa-Sherman Fire Department or the governing boards of Nottawa and Sherman Townships.

LINKS TO OTHER SECTIONS:

Background    
"An Interesting Sequence of Events"
800 MHz Potentially Deadly Problems
800 MHz Issues & History
The"Paper" Trail           The FOIA Documents  
Firefighters Killed        LEOs Killed
Click here
For the latest issues in this fiasco.

As of 12-15-2019
What has actually been done by Isabella County to solve this problem they created in 2015?  
Answer:
Nothing substantial has been done by Isabella County officials to correct the problems they created in March of 2015 and our townships have been forced to purchase very expensive 800 MHz radio equipment in an effort to keep our firefighters safe.

Once again, the taxpayers of Sherman & Nottawa townships have had to stand the financial burden of solving a problem created by Director Griffis.  His actions resulted in the additional expense of re-programming all of the NSFD pagers.  The next paragraph explains the problem.

In August 2017 the 800 MHz frequency used by fire personnel to contact central dispatch was changed by Director Griffis.  This created serious problems for Nottawa-Sherman firefighters because Nottawa-Sherman personnel were still being paged on the old frequency and the pagers could not receive the new frequency.  This meant that firefighters could not hear radio traffic between Central Dispatch and any of our trucks, officer radios or MMR radios.  We could not hear which trucks were en route to the emergency, whether or not an ambulance was en route, or any additional information provided by Central Dispatch (e.g., dangerous scene environment, road closures, etc.) November 2017: Our townships purchased a computer program which enabled Chief Livermore to re-program our pagers.  Once again, our townships had to pay the bill for correcting a problem created by Isabella County.

Because Isabella County has done nothing to fix the problems they created by switching to a digital radio system, our townships have found it necessary to purchase very expensive 800 MHz radio equipment for the Nottawa-Sherman Fire Department in an effort to provide an extra measure of safety for our firefighters and the citizens they serve.  This equipment gives our firefighters access to the MPSCS 800 MHz system owned and operated by the  State of Michigan.  
More Shenanigans:The FOIA Documents
More money, more danger: See "All of Our Eggs In One Basket?"
 A Plan? See "An Interesting Sequence of Events"

The latest:  November, 2017 - Our townships purchased a computer program which enabled Chief Livermore to re-program our pagers.  Once again, our townships had to pay the bill for correcting a problem created by Director Griffis (see the next paragraph).  Additionally, hand-held dual-band (VHF/UHF) radios capable of operating on 800 MHz, VHF digital and VHF analog (the old system that worked) have been purchased for all six NSFD officers.  Also, two 800 MHz truck radios have been purchased for our front line engine and our light rescue unit.  These radios are very expensive and critically necessary for our safety.  The fact remains that this expense for our townships would not have been necessary if Isabella County officials had cared about the safety of Nottawa-Sherman firefighters.  The "old" VHF "analog" system worked very well for us, but we were forced into switching to "digital" radios which are unreliable.

On or about 8/1/17 - With no consideration for our welfare, Central Dispatch-911 Director Marc Griffis mandated a change in frequency for all 800 MHz traffic between Central Dispatch and Isabella County fire department units and personnel.  The new frequency cannot be received by Nottawa-Sherman 800 MHz pagers without reprogramming all 24 units at a substantial cost to our township.  This means that firefighters cannot hear any communications between Central Dispatch and our trucks, MMR ambulance crews or NSFD officers.  We cannot hear which trucks have checked en route, if an ambulance has checked en route, the ambulance location and whether or not additional resources have been dispatched.  Most critical is the fact that we cannot hear safety related information forthcoming from Central Dispatch (e.g., dangerous scene condtions, road closures).  
4/18/17 - Our fire department, Nottawa-Sherman, is in the process of purchasing the very expensive 800 MHz equipment we need to fully utilize the State of Michigan's 800 MHz system.  Officers now carry very expensive portable radios that can access the 800 MHz system, the county digital fire communications system and the analog system still used by neighboring counties.  Our townships have also purchased pagers capable of receiving pages on all three systems.  NSFD personnel are currently paged over the State of Michigan's 800 MHz system.  This has worked well for some, not so well for others.  The pagers are constantly producing an "out of range" tone because the 800 MHz signals do not have the penetrating power of the lower frequencies used previously.  800 MHz signals cannot be received inside most metal sided buildings.  Chief Livermore recently had a very expensive "booster" system installed so we can receive 800 MHz signals inside our fire station.  Unfortunately, those of us who live in houses with aluminum siding find the cost of a home "booster" system a bit too much to fit in our budgets so we may not receive some pages through the 800 MHz system.  Many of us have to rely on the alerts which are sent to our cell phones to know when we have an emergency call.  That feature is not an automatic function in the county dispatch center.   Fortunately, the county dispatchers are pretty good at remembering "push the button" that sends the alerts to our phones.  

12/28/16 - Nothing has changed.  Isabella County officials continue to refuse to invest in more repeater towers and equipment to improve radio coverage for firefighters and other emergency personnel via their digital VHF system.  The "digital" VHF system that has cost County & township agencies well over a million dollars continues to be less reliable than the "analog" VHF system we had prior to March, 2015.  Now, with most townships paying out thousands of dollars to utilize the State of Michigan's 800 MHz system, we will be at the mercy of the State for increases in operating fees and operational issues.  We can only hope that the State will be more responsive to our needs than our elected Isabella County officials.
 
10/20/16 -  As Isabella County officials seek an increase in the per phone surcharge in our county to fund Isabella County Central Dispatch, firefighters in northwest Isabella County continue to deal with the radio communications problems created when the county officials decided to "go digital" in March of 2015.  Sherman Township has invested thousands of dollars in 800 MHz equipment so firefighters can have access the MPSCS 800 MHz radio system, but there are many places where this very expensive system is no better, and sometimes worse, than the county system.  In summary, firefighters still have less reliable communications than they had prior to March of 2015 when the county "went digital".
5/03/16 - Chief Livermore had a device installed which allows the radio in our light rescue to be used as a repeater. Our NSFD repeater is being converted back to analog and our pagers re-programmed to hear that the output frequency.  There has been no action whatsoever from the County to fix the problems they created. 
  • 1/3/16 - Having seen no action on the part of Isabella County, I emailed Ms. McAvoy and each Isabella County Board of Commissioners member expressing my anger and frustration regarding the lingering, dangerous, lack of reliable communications for our fire department.  Rumor has it that my remarks were not received well.
  • 12/14/15 - I emailed information to Ms. McAvoy regarding digital vs. analog radio systems and the failure of digital radio systems installed by other government agencies. 
  • 12/14/15 - Ms. McAvoy responded with an email stating that she and others had "...  met multiple times to assess the communication problem and seek solutions." .
  • 12/13/15 - I emailed the Isabella County administrator, Margaret McAvoy, explaining my concerns.

Instead of fixing the coverage problem by adding another tower and repeater system, the County "tested" alternatives.  This was not a sincere effort to fix the problems the County has created.  It was merely a stalling tactic.  
Nothing has been done to bring our communications up to the level we had in 2014!
The NSFD Repeater System Proves To Be Better Than the Isabella County "Fire West" Repeater System
For "testing" purposes, the NSFD repeater at the fire station in Weidman (owned by NSFD, maintained by Crouch Communications Inc) has been coverted to digital.  
A "positive" -- Provides better coverage for NSFD than the County owned "fire west" repeater "maintained" by Pro Comm Inc.
A "negative" -- NSFD lost it's "analog" repeater and the ability to use it for communications with fire departments in Mecosta & Clare counties.
A "negative"-- NSFD pagers can no longer be programmed to hear the NSFD repeater now that it's digital.
A "negative"--  NSFD truck operators now have to use the NSFD repeater rather than the County "37 Fire" channel
A "negative" -- Isabella County dispatchers are required to listen to all of the traffic on the NSFD repeater.
The "test" has become a "fix" (temporary, we hope)  because it returns a little of the safety we lost.

The "Elite" 800 MHz Digital Radio System
For testing purposes, every fire department in Isabella County was issued 800 MHz radios & pagers for use on the 800 MHz digital communications system operated by the Michigan’s Public Safety Communications System (MPSCS).  
A "positive" --  Testing was minimal (4 days for the pagers) and sporatic, but the 800 MHz radios & pagers seemed to work as well as the old analog system.
A "negative"-- The cost of the 800 MHz equipment (estimated by Chief Livermore at $167,000, not including new digital pagers) is beyond the capabilities of the NSFD budget.      
A "negative"-- NSFD officers were required to talk to Central Dispatch using only the digital hand-held radios.
A "negative"-- NSFD officers had to carry two hand-held tranceivers so we could communicate on all three systems.



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