Issues with firefighter pagers is an ongoing problem, Lincoln County EMA Director Tim Pellerin told the Lincoln County Commissioners at their regular meeting Sept. 20.
Though no fire department has missed responding to a call to date, many firefighters have been unable to receive signals on their pagers in certain areas of Lincoln County.
Pellerin notified the Commissioners of the problem after meeting with eight fire chiefs on the issue and said the problem is entirely with portable radios and not with the vehicle based two-way call system.
Pellerin said the issue was a combination of poor pager design, problems associated with switching from wideband to narrowband radio channels, and the topography of the county.
Transitioning from wideband to narrowband channels, as per FCC regulations, has cut signal strength in half, Pellerin said.
By way of example, Pellerin said the reduced signal strength has made it where sitting next to a computer can black out a pager system.
Lincoln County’s topography, particularly along the coast in Bremen, Bristol, and Southport, has only exacerbated the paging system problems.
LCEMA is currently trying to determine what can be identified as a signaling system problem and what can be attributed to the pager itself. The pager used by Lincoln County emergency service agencies has a reputation nationally for not working well.
Pellerin said pager issues were scattered across Lincoln County’s emergency services, except for New Harbor, which is reporting department-wide problems.
Pellerin said steps were already being taken to remedy the situation. LCEMA has strengthened tower signals in Boothbay and on Blint Hill, achieving great progress in reducing paging issues. Transmission strength in Boothbay has doubled from 40kw to 80kw. Blint Hill’s transmission strength has been increased from 100kw to 150kw.
Pellerin said he is considering hiring an outside consultant to advise Lincoln County EMA on how to improve signal reliability before any upgrades to Lincoln County’s infrastructure to improve transmission strength is considered.