MANSFIELD — A proposed $1.5 million Multi-Agency Radio Communications System digital radio system would improve communication and cooperation among township fire departments and also increase reliability.
That was the message conveyed to Richland County commissioners Tuesday by township fire department chiefs and the county sheriff’s department, which administers the county 9-1-1 emergency telephone system.
Commissioners, while not taking action on the request, appeared to be in agreement. But they asked the sheriff’s department and fire chiefs to gather more information about the costs before they make a decision.
County officials contracted with MissionCriticalPartners, a Pennsylvania-based company whose website says “helps our clients enhance and evolve their public safety communications systems and operations.”
The company did an analysis of the Richland County emergency management communications system and found the current VHF fire radio system, installed in 1990, is nearly obsolete.
“Of utmost concern is that the current county-owned radio system is beyond end of life,” the company said in its report. “Some elements of the radio system is quite old, and the overall infrastructure is aged and no longer supported by the manufacturer.
“Several of the sites are outdated to the point that it has become difficult to purchase replacement parts to keep the sites operational,” it said. “The system is in danger of unrecoverable catastrophic failure.”
It also found the system made communications among township departments, and agencies outside the county, cumbersome and unreliable.It said the current system lacks the channel capacity to handle large-scale or multiple simultaneous incidents and that countywide coverage is lacking.
MissionCriticalPartners recommended the new MARCS system, which will “mitigate or eliminate these issues.” The Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the Mansfield Police Department currently use the MARCS system. The Mansfield Fire Department uses the VHF system.
MARCS, which has existed since 2000, is used throughout Ohio and the county could purchase radios at a discounted rate via the state’s procurement office.
Individual townships can also apply for grants for up to $50,000 per department to help cover the costs of MARCS equipment and user fees.
The county would also have the option of partnering with the state to enhance coverage by adding tower sites. The county would pay for implementing the sites, though ownership would go to the state, which would assume maintenance responsibility.
The MARCS system currently has three towers in Richland County, located at 3240 Ohio 430, one mile north of Mansfield on Ohio 13 and 6469 Garber Road in Bellville.
