SAFENET


SAFENET

Wildland Fire Safety & Health Reporting Network

SAFENET Event Information
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SAFENET ID:
20250528-0002        [Corrective Actions]
Event Start Date:
05/28/2025 0800
Event Stop Date:
 
Incident Name:
Poor Base Station Radio Communications
Fire Number:
 
State:
Oregon
Jurisdiction:
USFS
Local Unit:
Ochoco N.F. -COFMS Prairie Division -Prineville, OR
Incident Type:
Wildland, Prescribed/Fuels Treatment, All Hazard, Training
Incident Activity:
Line, Support, Transport to/from, Readiness/Preparedness
Stage of Incident:
Other
Position Title:
Fire Operations Specialist -OPS-XX 
Task:
Poor Base Station Radio Communications 
Management Level:
N/A
Resources Involved:
Multiple IA resources may be effected with poor communications from Duty Officer base station radio.  
Contributing Factors
Contributing Factors:
Communications, Equipment, Other
Human Factors:
 
Other Factors:
Poor internet connection with the base station radio appears to be the culprit.  
Narrative
Describe in detail what happened including the concern or potential issue, the environment (weather, terrain, fire behavior, etc), and the resulting health issue.
Poor internet interface here at our work center location in Prineville, OR. This has been an ongoing issue for many months with no resolution. We have been told multiple times, with a new office building under construction on site, that the internet interface will be upgraded in the new office building upon completed construction. That is all good to hear, but the issue still remains in the interim, for the next couple years. Our Duty Officer base station radio here on site at Lamonta Work Center, has poor internet connection, which then provides poor radio communications with our resources. This poor communication link provides scratchy and often times unreadable communications from our responding resources to incidents and projects alike across the forest and grasslands. This is a major safety concern for us and our multiple responding resources at any given time throughout the coming months.
Immediate Action Taken
Reporting Individual : please describe actions you took to correct or mitigate the unsafe/unhealthful event.
We currently continue to limit access to the hardwired network that the base station radio is connected to. We utilize starlink and gov devices to hotspot and wireless connect to internet. This helps slightly, we continue to monitor radio operations with handheld and truck radio units as we get into more busy days during summer months. Clearly and upgrade in our current system is in need before the new office is constructed, in order for us to support and protect our public, and private lands in a safe and effective manner.


Agency Response

20250528-0002-CA001

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