Fentress County emergency responders struggle to maintain reliable contact with dispatch as the county pursues a radio system upgrade.
Fentress County EMS Director Daniel Coleman said the county is seeking a $241,536 Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative grant as the first step toward replacing its aging VHF infrastructure. The equipment would be compatible with the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network.
“The equipment was purchased in 2021 and there was some components of that that was not properly maintained by a previous radio vendor,” Coleman said, “And some of those components are starting to age and they are starting to fail.”
Coleman said the grant would purchase 27 sets of vehicle and portable radios for the Fentress County Sheriff’s Department. Coleman said the funding would cover only a portion of a countywide transition estimated to cost $2.7-$3 million.
Coleman said Fentress County plans to pursue grants to move individual departments onto the new system rather than fund the entire project locally. Coleman said the county’s rural nature and smaller tax base make the full cost difficult to absorb.
“The county chose to seek grant funding in attempt to try to start switching over departments at a time,” Coleman said. “So we’re looking at grant funding for all departments.”
Coleman said the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network, or TACN, uses 700 and 800 megahertz frequencies and state-maintained infrastructure. Fentress County would purchase the radios and other end-user equipment needed to access the network.
“It allows us to jump onto that system and essentially anywhere in Tennessee an officer or EMS or fire could talk back to the Fentress County dispatch center,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the transition would also improve communication when a major incident brings outside agencies into Fentress County. Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and other state agencies operate on TACN, while ambulances across Tennessee already carry TACN radios.
“So that allows interoperability throughout the whole state should we have to request mutual aid from other districts throughout Tennessee then we could request that and we can essentially take and put everybody on the same frequencies here in Fentress County and be able to communicate statewide,” Coleman said.
Coleman said the county submitted the grant application for review. Coleman said an award could allow the Sheriff’s Department to begin transitioning to the new equipment within the next year.
“We’re trying to be diligent with our money,” Coleman said. “We’re trying to seek alternate fundings to help improve Fentress County as well as the resident safety and security throughout the entirety of the county.”