The Fire Chief for Hanover says there is a disappointing turn of events concerning the province's new emergency communications system.

Last year it was announced that the province would pay to build the new system and pay for annual operating costs. However, local fire departments would be forced to cover the cost of purchasing new radios for the system.

upported by Motorola beyond the year 2025.

"That's very disappointing for us," says Wiebe.

He notes that means that in just over four years, they will be in the exact same position they are today. Wiebe says with their old analogue FleetNet systems, they do not have the support for those radios once they break. Because replacement parts can not be found, those radios become useless and can only be used for parts.

"We were hoping that our new system would give us ten to twenty years of trouble-free use," says Wiebe. "But with this news, we're looking at four years at best and then we're going to be back to where we are now. So that's very disappointing."

With the province mandating this new system and forcing fire departments into making these purchases, Wiebe suggests there is a chance they could take their concerns to the province.

"I'm sure these things will be talked about at higher levels," he says. But I really don't have information as to how far we can go with that."