By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A $35 million system that will transform emergency communications in Hamilton County should be up and running by summer's end, county officials say.

"Things are progressing at a very rapid pace," said Greg Wenz, operations manager for the Hamilton County Communications Center.

The county is building an 800-megahertz system that will allow police and fire departments from Anderson Township to Harrison to talk to each other by radio and eliminate most spots where they can't be heard. The system will replace a police UHF system that's almost 25 years old and a low-band fire and emergency system that's half a century old, Wenz said.

"There are times I cannot speak to my firefighters as they're going into a burning building," Springfield Township Fire Chief Robert Leininger said. "We're very optimistic that this new system will allow us to talk to one another."

He compared the current systems' incompatibility with dueling VCR formats in the early days of that technology.

"Emergency responders throughout the country are moving to the frequency, and locally, Clermont and Warren counties have made the switch.

"Hamilton County has bought nearly 2,000 radios for the 40-plus communities participating, Wenz said. However, a few cities that share a combined emergency dispatch system rather than using county dispatch have not yet joined.

The Silverton and St. Bernard police departments are in that camp, partly because the county is charging fees to those who want to join the 800-megahertz system while keeping their own dispatching. Also, St. Bernard Chief Steve Moeller said, the county system will not reach its full potential until Cincinnati finishes building its 800-megahertz system.

When Cincinnati's system debuts in about one and a half years, those on the county system will not only be able to talk to each other, but they'll also be able to communicate with Cincinnati police and fire. The city system is expected to cost about $24.3 million, Project Manager Kent Ryan said.

Norwood has not committed but is in talks to join Cincinnati's system, he said.

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com