Department of Emergency Services

Radio Division

The Radio Division maintains the seven channel 800 Mhz Trunking radio system in Wicomico County that supports Fire, EMS and Police agencies. This also includes other agencies not on the trunking system, but who share interoperability with County Public Safety agencies. There are approximately 1,800 portable and 625 mobile radios on the system. There are 14 fire and EMS departments and five police agencies on the system in the County. As mentioned the system has interoperability with seven counties, the City of Salisbury and Ocean City Systems. Preventive maintenance is done in house on a 12 month schedule. A 60 ft. portable tower trailer for backup scenarios is also maintained by the division staff. The system provides on street coverage. BDAs, Bi-Directional Amplifiers, are used to inject signals in and out of a building to enhance in building coverage. BDAs are used on those building such as PRMC that because of the type of construction inhibit regular in building coverage provided by the current system. The Maryland Eastern Shore Interoperability Network (MESIN) provides for interoperability capability between the counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.