Functional and financial concerns for proposed radio communications network in Monroe County

It’s a firefighter’s worst nightmare: Trapped inside a smoke-filled basement, he radios for help. But he can’t get a signal. He speaks, but his colleagues and dispatchers hear nothing.

Monroe County leaders and fire district officials agree that no firefighter should ever wind up in such a desperate position. But they are still working out how to ensure that the county’s new multimillion-dollar digital radio system can prevent it from happening.