LaAKEPORT >> A lease agreement draft is being created by the County Administrative Office and County Counsel that would allow the Lake County Fire Chiefs’ Association to use the Red Net Radiofrequency for one year. The agreement will help bridge the gap as the association switches to a new system.
North Shore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said keeping the Red Net in the county and using the frequency will help maintain safety while changing over.
“What the county chiefs are asking for would be keeping the license in the county’s name with the fire chiefs concurrent licensing. This involves the Fire Chief’s Association applying for a concurrent licensing through FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and this will eliminate the concern for the county losing the licenses. We would also pay for the licensing fees,” Beristianos said.
Beristianos said everything would remain the same in regards to dispatch, except instead of communication going through Central Dispatch, the fire departments will be using Cal Fire Dispatch. The Red Net frequency would be employed the same way all other frequencies have been used.
“Whether we stayed with Central Dispatching or went to Cal Fire we would like to have the Fire Chiefs’ licensing concurrent with the county’s,” Beristianos said.
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said he would not oppose the use of Red Net for the Fire Chiefs, but there are other options that can be used for a frequency that have not been considered.
“This is a service that we have been able to provide without the use of that frequency however as the fire departments have indicated, times have changed. The demands for fire service dispatching have changed as well as the demands for law enforcement dispatching,” Martin said.
He added that a secondary frequency would have been a great benefit to the law enforcement during the recent shootings when they had to shut down their own frequencies.
This change was brought up in earlier meetings this year, but District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele wanted to make sure everything was clear between all parties involved.
“I want to work it out so that the first responders basically have their story in place as to how it’s being used and should be used in the best way for the County of Lake,” Steele said.
The five different Fire Districts in the county all use various frequencies under the one primary channel of Red Net. This channel has four licensed repeaters with several base stations. The channel has been utilized for the past 45 years for fire-related matters when it was obtained by the Lakeshore Fire Chief Don Parker in the 1970s.
When central dispatch was being developed and the implementation of the 911 system in the ‘80s for the county, the FCC required a license be placed on a single entity as a point of contact. The county is currently that point of contact.
The other Fire Department Boards most vote on the use of Cal Fire as the new dispatch option before the Fire Chiefs make the switch from Central Dispatch.
