Callaway County can expect its new simulcast system for its fire departments sometime in August.
The new simulcast system will improve communication between the fire departments and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) dispatch. The main hub which will house the new system will also house communication equipment and serve as a storage facility for the rural fire departments.
A large problem with the current communication system is that the frequency would overload when too many departments were using it, Dean Buffington the chief of the Fulton Fire Department, said. To help ease that problem, the Fulton Fire Department has opted to make the move to its own frequency, which had been subject for discussion over the last several years. The Fulton Fire Department will still have the ability to move back to the old frequency in case the Fulton department needs to collaborate with the other fire departments in Callaway County, Buffington said.
"There is no potential for human error," Gary Jungermann, chairman of the Callaway County Commission, said. "It takes that out of the loop."
The new simulcast system will also reduce the amount of time it takes for the EOC to dispatch some of the rural departments. The EOC currently has to create a dispatch message that bounces off several different frequencies before getting to where it's needed; this also creates problems for those out in the field as the coverage makes it sometimes hard for the fire departments to hear dispatch, EOC Director Michelle Kidwell said.
The Fulton Police Department and fire department will be able to take advantage of the building and the backup generator that came with the system even though they will not be a part of the new system; Fulton is providing the land for the communication hub and the natural gas which will be used to power the backup generator. On Thursday the commission will have a meeting to discuss a lease agreement with the city.
The equipment will be in the county's hands soon and the building that will house the new system touched ground, Friday. The next steps are to lay electrical and natural gas lines to the communication hub and set up antennas for the system.
The county has already paid for the $235,000 system and in February the fire departments involved reimbursed the county with two years of the five year payment plan.
Each fire department is responsible for paying a sum of the system cost based on their call volume:
•$45,000 from the county, to be taken out of the EOC fund,
•$7,600 from the Auxvasse Fire Department,
•$32,300 from the Central Callaway Fire Protection District,
•$19,000 from the South Callaway Fire Protection District,
•$16,625 from the New Bloomfield Fire Department,
•$48,450 from the North Callaway Fire Protection District,
•$15,200 from the Millersburg Fire Protection District,
•$50,825 from the Holts Summit Fire Department.
This story has been updated to properly cite Dean Buffington as the chief of the Fulton Fire Department. A previous edition cited Jason Turner as the chief of the Fulton Fire Department. That error has been corrected.