A new communications tower has been erected atop the Hay River Fire Hall.
The work was completed on the morning of April 25 to replace a tower that tumbled in October, apparently because of high wind.
Fire Chief Ross Potter welcomes the new tower and the return to normal communications for the fire department, including its ambulance service.
“I’m extremely happy to have it repaired,” he said. “The range is back to normal. Our communications were touch and go for the whole time we didn’t have the tower.”
Potter said he can now communicate by radio with the fire hall from the other side of Alexandra Falls, whereas the range had been limited to about Paradise Valley.
The fire chief said that the improved communication will help during highway rescues.
Once the tower was erected on April 25, the communication improved that day, he said. “As soon as we got the antenna on it, we were live on it again. It’s working great.”
The tower was replaced by the Town of Hay River’s insurance for just under $100,000.
The project was undertaken by WesTower Communications of Vancouver.
The previous tower tumbled on Oct. 14.
Afterwards, some communications continued to be provided by the emergency services radio antenna which was on the fallen tower, after it was secured to the side of the fire hall as a safety precaution.
In November, a temporary fix was made to the antenna. A tripod base was installed on top of the fire hall and the antenna was placed on a pipe extending skyward about 20 feet above the roof of the building.
Because of the diminished range without the full height of the tower, emergency vehicles used backup cellphones and satellite phones.
“We had workarounds,” said Potter. “We used cellphones rather than radio to get to the hospital and give patient stats. We were able to work without it, but it’s certainly nice to have the VHF radio back.”
The fire chief noted that radio communication is quicker and easier.
A cellphone is person-to-person, while many people hear at the same time what’s going on by radio, he said. “If we ran into a difficult situation, for example when we’re doing possibly a highway accident or something like that and we needed more help, if we got the radio it’s really easy to turn around and say, ‘Hey guys, we need more people out here.’”
The new tower is 65 feet high, the same as the one that fell.
However, it is not an aluminum tower, like the one that failed. The previous tower was rated for 80 km/h winds, and it fell in winds that gusted up to 68 km/h.
The new tower is made of steel.