First responders have an arsenal of tools, but to Shannon Turbeville, few are as important as radios.
“Who wants to go into a burning building with no communication?” said Turbeville.
Turbeville, a longtime Lakeland firefighter and the President of Lakeland’s fire union, Lakeland Professional Firefighters (IAFF Local 4173), is pushing for a change to make radios work better after an incident in late August.
According to Turbeville, firefighters had trouble using their radios while responding to a medical emergency in a warehouse on County Line Road.
“The people that ran the call were rattled,” Turbeville said.
As Turbeville explained, the department’s radios sometimes have signal issues when they are used inside some large commercial buildings with thick walls.
Regardless of the August incident, that’s why Turbeville is pushing the city to equip its firetrucks with repeaters, a tool used to enhance and boost the radio signal.
According to Florida statute 633.202, many new commercial structures are responsible for installing their own repeaters, which the state refers to as “two-way radio communication enhancement systems.”
However, on its website, the City of Lakeland says its Fire Department utilizes its own “in-vehicle repeaters,” meaning businesses will only have to install their own systems when the fire department’s repeaters “do not provide sufficient coverage.”
Turbeville, however, believes the city’s claim — that it “utilizes in-vehicle repeaters” — does not tell the whole story.
According to a memo Turbeville got from Lakeland’s city manager on Sept. 14, the city has one portable repeater. An in-vehicle repeater has been ordered, and another will be purchased next fiscal year.
According to the memo, the two in-vehicle repeaters will be installed in the vehicles driven by two department battalion chiefs.
To Turbeville, that presents a problem.
“Having two repeaters, one on each battalion chief’s vehicle, does not provide the firefighters or the public the protection if that battalion chief’s vehicle is not on the scene when firefighters are making entry into the building,” he said.
Instead, he would like to see the city purchase additional repeaters so one can be equipped on a firetruck at each of the city’s seven stations.
His concern was echoed in a letter signed by both the International Association of Fire Fighters and Florida Professional Firefighters.
“They believe that there’s inadequate protection in Lakeland,” Turbeville said.
In the Sept. 14 memo, the city manager told Turbeville that the fire chief is “confident” that the city’s plan “will address the challenges with communications in commercial buildings.”
The city said it will issue a statement from Chief Doug Riley on Tuesday.