New Radios to Bridge Communication Gap for County Firefighters, Neighboring Counterpart

(TNS) - When Frederick County firefighters upgraded to the 800 megahertz radio frequency several years ago, not all of the county’s closest neighbors followed suit.

As a consequence, county firefighters found themselves unable to communicate directly with stations in Jefferson County, West Virginia, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and Washington County, all of which stayed in the lower, 400 MHz range, said Chip Jewell, chief of the Frederick County Division of Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services.

“Essentially, the lower the frequency, the wider the penetration you get,” Jewell said of the outlying counties’ decision to stick with the lower frequency. “They get better penetration using the UHF 400 MHz frequencies due to the mountainous terrain that you see more of past Frederick.”

To address that, the Frederick County Council voted on Tuesday to approve the last of the funding to equip firefighters stationed closest to those outlying counties with universally compatible radios.

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