Toledo Fire Mutual Aid request by Defiance Ohio

The Defiance Ohio Fire Department requested mutual aid from the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department earlier today for a Trench Rescue in Downtown Defiance. The incident was at 624 Perry Street in Downtown Defiance Ohio. The original request and response from Toledo Fire units started around 11:30 AM late this morning. This was the farthest mutual aid request I've ever heard dispatched for Toledo Fire. Downtown Defiance Ohio is approximately 60 miles from Downtown Toledo Ohio. The trip by road along US-24 would normally take about an hour and 15 minutes. Units from Toledo Fire included Chief 116, Engine 18's company along with the Trench Rescue Unit and Confined Space Unit as well as Engine 5 and Truck 5. The Toledo Fire units started this as a "Code 3" lights and sirens response. The Toledo Fire units were also noted as having switched their radios from the Lucas County Public Safety radio system over to the ECOMM-7 (emergency common) talk group on the Ohio MARCS radio system. However after about 20 minutes the Toledo Fire units were cancelled and able to return to service.

Putnam County celebrates kickoff of MARCS radio system

Article about Ohio MARCS communications upgrades in Putnam County:

LimaOhio.com - Glandorf, Ohio: Sunday, April 5th, 2009

"It's like writing the final chapter of a best selling novel," Putnam County Sheriff Jim Beutler told state and local officials at the county's Multi-Agency Radio Communications System kick off on Sunday ...

http://www.limaohio.com/news/county_35982___article.html/system_state.html

Jeff KC8NNO

Fire Department Communication Channels for Funeral Services

Firefighter Michael J. Darrington
August 25th, 1963 - February 27th, 2009

Visitation:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 5:00PM-8:00PM
House of Day Funeral Home
2550 Nebraska Ave.
Toledo, OH 43607

Last Alarm:
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 7:00PM-8:00PM

Funeral Services:
Friday, March 6th, 2009 11:00AM
Friendship Baptist Church
5301 Nebraska Ave.
Toledo, OH 43607

Fire Department Communications Channels:
Out of state Fire Departments can use the NPSPAC channel "8 ITAC2".
Ohio Fire Departments can use the MARCS channel "ECOMM 21".
These channels will be active beginning at 0800 hours, on March 6th.

Tentative Schedule for March 6th:
8:00 AM - NPSPAC "8 ITAC2" and Ohio MARCS "ECOMM 21" Activated
9:30 AM - Apparatus Staging @ Friendship Baptist Church
11:00 AM - Funeral Services @ Friendship Baptist Church
~1:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM - Procession (Church to Station 16 via Dorr St)
~2:00 PM - Station 16 Drive By [times dependent on turnout]
~2:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM - Procession (Station 16 to Memorial Park via Monroe St)
~3:00 PM - Internment @ Toledo Memorial Park
Afternoon - Evening - Repass @ Erie Street Market

For More Information:
Toledo Fire and Rescue Department
Toledo Firefighters Local 92

Radio Shack is at it again (Scanner Sales)

Radio Shack is at it again when it comes to Scanner Sales. Both the PRO-106 and PRO-197 are on sale again for $399.99 (only a $100 discount this time) until 01/03/2009. The PRO-2096 is also on clearance for $249.97 and while it is a digital scanner, this particular model is not the best for the Lucas County system, but some folks may still want to give it a try.

UPDATE: The Radio Shack PRO-2096 digital scanner comes to $204.97 when ordering online with the 10% clearance discount and the $20 off from the 20STUFF08 discount code. Just a general disclaimer, this is one of the oldest models of digital scanners, and may not provide for the best reception with certain systems. It is technically capable of receiving the 9600 baud Project 25 Standard trunking control channel format and the LSM (Linear Simulcast Modulation) CQPSK (Compatible Differential Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) APCO-25 digital voice modulation format used by the Lucas County Public Safety system. Individuals however have generally been more likely to experience sub-par to unacceptable performance with simulcast systems especially when using these older models. Your experience may vary. For more information regarding the challenges, refer to the Simulcast Digital Distortion page on the Radio Reference Wiki (http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Simulcast_digital_distortion). The PRO-2096 would still make for a great scanner for the State of Ohio MARCS digital radio system.

Hancock County getting MARCS radios in 2009

Article about communications upgrades in Hancock County, including new MARCS radios for Sheriff, County Fire and EMS:

Courier Electronic Edition - Findlay, Ohio: Sunday, December 21, 2008

The county received a $1.6 million grant to purchase MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) radios, which will be used by sheriff's deputies, county fire departments and EMS providers. Consoles provided through the grant will ...

http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2008/Dec/21/ar_news_122108_story1.asp?d=122108_story1,2008,Dec,21&c=n

Jeff KC8NNO