NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Pa. – In an emergency, every second counts, making communication crucial for first responders.
Earlier this month, across Northampton County, communication was disrupted due to radio frequency issues.
First responders that 69 News spoke to say those radio issues have sparked a lot of concern, and they’re hoping the county can come up with a permanent fix.
“To put it in layman’s terms, it sounds like you’re talking to aliens,” says Chief Brett Buskirk.
Chief Brett Buskirk with the Nancy Run Fire Company says they’ve been reporting radio issues to the county since late 2024.
He says over the past two years, the frequency has been spotty, and two weeks ago, that problem got worse.
“October 2nd, it began where we couldn’t use the radios at all,” Chief Buskirk says.
Chief Buskirk says in parts of the county you couldn’t hear anybody.
“A lot of the time there were problems with us even getting the information or getting out to the comm center letting them know we’re on the way to a call,” says Firefighter/ EMT Carlos Veloz.
For Nancy Run and many of the county’s other first responders, these radios are a lifeline.
“So we use our radios for anything from basic fire police calls to direct traffic to a house fire,” says Lieutenant Jacob Serfass.
“There’s a term in the fire service we call a mayday. Calling a mayday means a firefighter is down; if that doesn’t get out, somebody’s gonna die,” Chief Buskirk says.
A spokesperson for Northampton County says the issue was reported to them on October 2nd and that they immediately engaged their radio maintenance vendor.
They say the issue is believed to be related to atmospheric conditions that can temporarily affect radio frequencies.
Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski says testing and troubleshooting are still underway, but reception has been restored.
“This is exactly why we need to keep investing in the P25 system,” says Zrinski.
The P25 radio system is an upgrade from what many emergency services in the county currently use.
“The P25 system cannot be fully implemented until everyone has these radios, and they’re costly; they’re approximately $10,000 per radio,” she explained.
Firefighters at Nancy Run say during an emergency every second counts, and they’re hoping the county can come up with a permanent radio solution to keep the calls coming and keep the community safe.
“Funding’s not an excuse, their inability to not do anything isn’t an excuse. It needs to happen,” Chief Buskirk says.
The county says it remains in regular contact with its radio maintenance vendor and first responders and will continue monitoring the system as part of its ongoing emergency communications operations.