Fire Knocks Out Transmitter Site

Dispatchers in Surprise (Ariz.) are using portable radios from the city of Phoenix to communicate after a mountain-top wildfire last month destroyed transmitter equipment. The fire’s origin is undetermined, but it knocked out the radio gear operated by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, an 800 MHz trunked radio system also used by several smaller public safety agencies. Because of geography, Surprise isn’t covered by alternate radio towers on the county’s system. So the city is now using three talk groups on the Phoenix system, which handles law enforcement and fire agencies over a wide region. Read more about attempts to fix the system here.