The Fulton Fire Department's simulcast system, which was expected to be done by the end of August, is still not online.
The system, which will help alleviate communication problems between Callaway County fire departments and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), is waiting on a frequency license from the Federal Communications Commission. Other equipment necessary for the system to go online has already been put in place, EOC Director Michelle Kidwell said.
During the system setup A & W Communications, which is in charge of getting the system online, noticed an interference over the frequency. Instead of using a frequency that would get interference at random intervals, Radio Consultant Scott Pasley believed it was better to find a cleaner frequency for the system, which meant applying for a frequency license.
The frequency, which has a 30 kilometer radius (about 18.6 miles), was picking up signals from a sheriff's department in the western part of Missouri, Pasley said.
"We need something that has less usage so there's no one with the same frequency that will interfere with us," he added.
This was the same problem that the Fulton Fire Department and other fire departments throughout Callaway have been dealing with for the past decade. The current frequency, which is used by all the departments in Callaway, would overload when too many departments were using it, Fulton Fire Chief Dean Buffington said. Once the new system is in place, the Fulton Fire Department will move to the new frequency, but still be able to transfer back to the old one to communicate with the other departments.
"This is a good and necessary improvement," Buffington said. The new system is expected to be online by the end of September.