East Pierce Fire Commissioners Vote to Support South Sound 911

At their monthly meeting on Aug. 16, the East Pierce Fire and Rescue board of fire commissioners voted unanimously to support the measure, even though constituent city Bonney Lake voiced opposition to the plan.

“By supporting South Sound 911, we can create a seamless system to better protect us all,” said East Pierce fire commissioner chair Rick Kuss.

Bonney Lake opposes the measure because of the already-established switch to Puyallup dispatch and the 800 mHz wavelength. Read City Administrator Don Morrison’s argument against South Sound 911 .

In Sumner, police are beginning the transition to 800 mHz, a process that should be complete in the next couple weeks, said Police Chief John Galle. Sumner voted to join Bonney Lake and switch to Puyallup dispatch in November of last year. Galle would not take an official stance on the South Sound 911 measure but said he supports better communication across the county.

“We definitely need to see improvements in our county in communications, and consolidation is a good thing,” said Galle. “Any improvements we can make to talk to each other is a good thing.”

Read our look at how South Sound 911 could affect East Pierce .

South Sound 911 is a regional plan up for the vote in the November election. If voters approve the funding, South Sound 911 will be created to upgrade equipment in order to comply with federal mandates and create a more efficient emergency communications system in Pierce County. The system would improve communications between fire fighters, police and sheriff’s deputies. Because each uses a combination of VHF, UHF and computer-based networks on various frequencies, law and fire officials are often unable to speak directly to one another on the scene, which can threaten efficiency in dangerous or deadly incidents.

According to the commissioners, the current patchwork system has been a concern for some time, especially in the more rural areas out of district, where dead zones leave responders and residence without access to communications.