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Monday, January 31, 2000 Page: 8A
Until now, the longstanding feud between members of the Pittston Township
Board Supervisors and the township’s volunteer fire and ambulance departments
was just a spiteful little tit-for-tat all too common in the little boroughs
and sparsely-populated townships that dot Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Spats over noisy crowds at the fire department’s carnival and the municipal
Christmas decorations that stopped abruptly just before reaching the firehouse
were probably annoying to some residents, amusing to others, but no big deal.
On the other hand, the latest shot fired across the bow of the fire and
ambulance departments by some of the supervisors – banning emergency workers
from using the township radio frequency – could have serious public safety
consequences. The supervisors, who initiated the ban through the Federal
Communications Commission, ought to reconsider or at least explain publicly
their reasons for such a drastic move.
The supervisors’ FCC complaint alleges that fire and ambulance crews cause
“harmful interference” over the radio frequency registered by the township
and used by public work crews. Firefighters say they’ve used the frequency for
more than a decade with the approval of the township, which spent thousands of
dollars on radio equipment for the fire department to access the channel.
Emergency workers say the FCC filing was prompted by firefighters’ request
that public works employees maintain radio silence during a recent 16-car
pile-up on a snow-covered Interstate 81. Such a request seems entirely
reasonable. Obviously, emergency communications should take precedence in such
circumstances.
Other than pure spite, we can come up with no reason why some supervisors
would take such drastic action.
While the township’s fire and ambulance crews are now dispatched to fires,
accidents and emergencies through the county’s 911 system, they still require
radios to communicate with one another while doing their jobs.
We think the supervisors should rescind their FCC complaint before a lack
of such communication endangers lives.