It looks as if the county may have another large expense coming its way if emergency service workers get through to the fiscal court.

According to law enforcement, fire departments and others there is an added worry out there that they may be risking their lives while risking their lives due to an overloaded and outdated system.

Auburn Fire Chief Jeff Gregory addressed fiscal court Tuesday telling them about poor radio communication with dispatch during an altercation he was involved in last week.

Gregory said he almost lost his life when a suspected arsonist put a gun in his face and pulled the trigger twice. The gun either misfired or was without bullets.

Gregory said when he ran “for his life” he could not contact the Emergency Communications Center (ECC/911.)

“My radio did not work,” said Gregory.

This is not the first time Gregory said this has happened. This is a problem that has been occurring for some time now due to an outdated and overloaded system.

Gregory said from now on his city fire department will document every incident where contact with dispatch, other emergency services or law enforcement cannot be made. “Someone is going to lose their life if this is not taken care of,” said Gregory.

Coroner Mary Givens said she has experienced some radio difficulty recently as well when she tried to call out on the coroner’s frequency and somehow got switched on to the Russellville Police Department’s frequency.

Captain Stephen Stratton of the Logan County Sheriff’s Department appeared on the court’s agenda Tuesday to discuss the radio problems, which have been brought to the court at least twice in the past year and a half.

Stratton said the Joint Emergency Communications Operations Board (JECOB) met last Friday about the problem. JECOB acts as an advisory board to the ECC/911 service. JECOB representatives sheriff Wallace Whittaker and Auburn Chief of Police Scott Harmon have both spoken to the court before about the radio issues in the past.

Stratton said he had been talking with representatives from both Motorola and Kenwood about a new system and what they have to offer. Motorola offers a turbo system for approximately $1 million and a hybrid system for approximately $1.5 million. Kenwood offers a Nexedge system for approximately $400,000, which is a certified law enforcement system.

Stratton said there is really not that much of a difference that he can see with either system except he is mainly concerned with longevity. The state is currently pushing Motorola, said Stratton, because they are striving for all emergency services to be on the same systems.

Stratton mentioned that Homeland Security gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants last year to fund emergency systems around the state because they wanted everyone to be able to communicate with one another; however, a lot of the grant recipients purchased different equipment and in the end they could not contact one another.

“This is why the state is endorsing Motorola at this time and if we want a chance of obtaining any funding for our new system we would have to choose a Motorola system,” said Stratton who added he is hearing the state may bring in Kenwood’s Nexedge by next year.

Stratton said the next batch of monies from Homeland Security will be released in May or June of 2010. Stratton feels if the county purchases another tower (repeater) that would “stop the bleeding” until the Homeland Security grants became available nest year. “Logan County only operates off of one tower, which is not enough and that is why the system is getting clogged,” said Stratton.

Stratton said if the county purchased another repeated it could be placed on a water tower in Auburn, which seems to be the area along with Lewisburg that is experiencing the worst connections. A repeater costs approximately $50,000 to $100,000, said Stratton. The new repeater can also be used when a new system is purchased. Stratton said the county really needs two more towers (repeaters).

Stratton did not have all the information at this time but told the court he would come back to the next court meeting in two weeks with more.

Lynn Dawson was at the meeting on behalf of the Olmstead fire department. He also serves on JECOB.

Dawson said the county needed to speak with an independent source who knew about radio systems and not just speak to the representatives of Motorola and Kenwood.

He said the current radio system was simply “not getting the job done” because it was inadequate and outdated. “It’s like your wife’s washing machine that keeps giving you trouble, you either buy a new one or hand her the wash board and we all know what trouble that would cause,” said Dawson.

“The county needs to bite the bullet and get something done. This would be a good use of the hospital reserve fund,” said Dawson. Another suggested he had was to also look into other companies besides just Kenwood or Motorola. “We all know what happens when you don’t have competition, you are in for it,” said Dawson. “This needs a little more studying but your going to have to spend the money. These emergency services are out there exposed,” said Dawson.