WISH-TV in Indianapolis has landed a story about problems with the local fire department's transition to digital radios.
WISH's
Karen Hensel and
Loni Smith McKown found that when firefighters are working in noisy environments, they cannot understand one another. This was not an issue when they used the old analog system.
This story may be playing out around the country. WISH points out that feds are requiring the transition to digital so that various emergency departments can talk with each other on the same system.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) warned of this problem last summer:
The IAFC is alerting its members to a potential issue and soliciting their input to a solution. We have received reports of firefighters experiencing unintelligible audio communications while using a digital two-way portable radio when operating in close proximity to the low-pressure alarm of their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Other common fireground noise, including powered tools, apparatus and PASS devices, may affect voice intelligibility.
This is an industry-wide issue and is not specific to any one manufacturer’s radios. There are indications that any digital voice communication product utilizing parametric voice encoders could be affected by this problem. The IAFC does know the problem is not related to any specific radio spectrum, as it is not a frequency of operation issue, or a particular communication standard.
I interviewed WISH investigative producer Loni Smith McKown by e-mail to find out more about the project:
AL TOMPKINS: How did you learn about this story?
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Producer Loni Smith McKown |
MCKOWN: Our political reporter passed along the tip and wouldn't reveal the source. We did some quick online research, starting with the International Association of Fire Chiefs' concerns. I had lots of background on the new 800 MHz (megahertz) digital radio system because we had done a story two years ago on problems with the old analog system and promises of what the new system would fix.
I called a former Indiana fire marshal, with whom I'm acquainted. He sent me to someone with the
Indianapolis Metropolitan Professional Firefighters Local.
The union guy was great. He's with the Indianapolis Fire Department and helped fight the 1992 fatal fire at the Indianapolis Athletic Club. He's the one who said, "We've done this before. We're not going to do it again." And he sent me to the head of the Marion County Fire Chiefs Association.
Why are the digital transmissions so hard to understand?MCKOWN: First, let me explain, in a word, the main benefit of digital radio technology: Coverage. No more "dead spots" where police, firefighters and EMTs couldn't communicate with each other or the control operators. No more "dead spots" in high-rise buildings and sub-basements.
The specific problem with the digital radios is something in the new technology called a "vocoder," which distorts the transmission.
I don't want to go into a complicated discussion of radio waves, bandwidth and digital technology. Suffice it to say that the old analog system allowed first responders to talk to one another or control operators directly, via analog antenna. The new digital system has to send the transmission through a computer before it reaches the intended receiver.
Think of it this way: When your analog TV set has reception problems, the picture and sound get staticky, but you can still see the program and understand what the characters are saying. With digital TV, the signal disappears completely.
Firefighters usually have the radio Velcro-ed near their shoulders. With the analog radios, they can simply talk "over" the radio and be understood. Firefighters are finding that the best way to understand digital radio communications is to literally move the radio to within an inch or two directly in front of your mouth (or the breathing apparatus speaker). This is not always possible when you're holding a hose, sawing through a door or rescuing a child. It's not easy to remember "best practices" when you're panicked or injured.
There is no question that noise causes problems with any kind of radio communications. But with the new technology, it's the noises unique to firefighters in the "hot zone" that make communications unintelligible.
How widespread do you think this problem is?MCKOWN: It's a national problem. The major manufacturers of radios are no longer producing analog technology. So as old radios break and begin to die, there are no replacement parts.
Wasn't the switch to digital somehow related to national security? A fallout of the Twin Towers calamity?MCKOWN: Yes. New York didn't have a trunked system that allowed for interoperability. Uh oh. That's radio-speak for the fact that the various public safety agencies couldn't communicate with each other -- even if they were standing next to each other. And old VHF and analog radios didn't work very well in tall buildings.
(Indianapolis already had moved to an interoperable system; our tragedy was a military plane crashing into the airport Ramada Inn in 1987, when they were using old VHF radios -- kind of like CB radios; they went to the trunked analog system in 1992.)
The goal is to improve technology with digital communications. TV is moving to high-definition to provide more bandwidth for public safety communications. But like any new technology (say, voting machines), there are glitches.
What were the biggest obstacles you had in reporting this story, and how did you overcome them?MCKOWN: Politics and other pressure tactics were used to try to prevent people from talking to us. This was a quick turnaround for an investigation (a week and two days). The most valuable thing I did the first day was sit down, face-to-face, with Chief Dale Henson and quickly share the research I'd already done. Then I let him and his deputy talk, and took pages of notes. They saw how serious I was about hearing them and learning more about the issues. Because of the trust I was able to earn, they hooked me up with someone involved in national testing.
Marion County has 12 fire departments using the communications system -- including the city of Indianapolis; several "excluded" cities, including the famous Speedway; and township fire departments. There's an effort to consolidate the township departments into the Indianapolis Fire Department -- which some think is a good idea, and others don't.
We have a new mayor and a new public safety director, who came to office in January. And the appointed members of the
Metropolitan Emergency Communications Agency board, which approved the purchase of the $37 million system under the former administration, didn't have a firefighter on the board when they signed the contract with Motorola -- manufacturer of both our old system and the new system. They spent $37 million.
Live demos were performed for me and Karen. But the various fire departments were warned: If you let WISH-TV shoot the demonstrations, Motorola could sue.
Fire chiefs are appointed. They serve at the pleasure of their mayors, their township trustees. Several firefighters would not talk on the record, but many served as background sources. I spoke to chiefs across the country who are involved in the national testing, as well as a source at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
And, most difficult of all, I spoke briefly to the firefighter who survived the Indianapolis Athletic Club fire, who was critically injured trying to rescue his colleagues and awarded the Medal of Valor for doing so. He said he'd consider our request to talk on camera. We believe two things happened:
1.) The powers-that-be at the Indianapolis Fire Department told him no.
2.) It's still painful to remember.
Bottom line, though, is that the firefighters are truly worried about the radios. Karen has a strong reputation for supporting police, firefighters and soldiers -- and for exposing issues that put them in harm's way.
Ultimately, we convinced them that we wanted to help expose the problem to the public, help exert pressure to get local officials to agree to a short-term solution and hopefully help them push radio manufacturers to find a solution that will keep firefighters -- and us -- safe.
Here are some links to help you dig deeper into this story: April 10, 2008: "
IAFC's Digital Problem Working Group Continues Efforts to Mitigate Digital Radio Issues"
Nov. 21, 2007:
Working group report [PDF]
Sept. 17, 2007:
Testing task group minutes [PDF]
Aug. 29, 2008:
Working group report [PDF]
June 21, 2007:
'Digital Radio Noise Problem: Best Practices Solicited"May 8, 2007:
Digital Radio Vocoder Operation [PDF]
May 8, 2007:
Working Group Meeting Minutes
