Subject: [NEXTEL-1] 2 Not So Good Stories

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 14:51:22 -0400

-------- Original Message --------
From: [email-masked]
Subject: [fr2] 2 Not So Good Stories

http://independent.gmnews.com/news/2003/0611/Front_Page/057.html 

Firefighter arrested for sending false radio alerts 

KEYPORT NEW JERSEY NJ - A borough firefighter was arrested on Friday for
interfering with emergency fire communications.
 
Township Police Lt. Thomas Mitchell arrested Edward Champion, 33, 55-B
Fulton St., and charged him with seven counts of interception and
interference with emergency communications and seven counts of
possession of a radio to intercept emergency communications, according
to Capt. John Dayback of the Keyport Police Department. 

Champion was released after posting $140,000 bail set by Municipal Court
Judge Catherine Jannarone, Dayback said. 

Champion, a member of the borough fire company's Fire Patrol, had
allegedly been using a department-issued radio to interfere with the
fire department's radio frequency since January, Dayback said. 
Each borough firefighter has a pager to ensure that the dispatcher will
be able to contact him during an emergency. Champion allegedly recorded
the dispatcher calling for the firefighters to an emergency and then
rebroadcast the emergency message over the frequency. The rebroadcast of
the message blocked all other communications on that frequency,
therefore making it impossible for firefighters and fire chiefs to
communicate with one another, Dayback said. 

"It kept them from communicating with each other, which interfered with
their operations," Dayback said. 

The frequencies would be blocked only during fire calls. If the
dispatcher announced that the frequency was being interrupted and that
she would change to the police frequency, Champion would allegedly
switch to the police frequency and continue interfering with the
messages, Dayback said. 

"There were seven situations that we (the police) have documented. There
were numerous before that," Dayback said. 
The investigation was originally being handled by the Board of Fire
Chiefs. The police became involved after Champion allegedly started
using the police frequency to block the firefighters' communication in
April, Dayback said. 
No one was injured as a result of the interference on the radio, Dayback
said. 

"The fire department was able to adapt and overcome," Dayback said. "If
they have a block, they get around it." 

The police and fire departments do not want people to "judge the fire
department or the firefighters for this one individual's actions,"
Dayback said. "Our detective bureau and the Federal Communications
Commission teamed up and started investigating about a month ago,"
Dayback said. 

The detective bureau and the FCC used FCC equipment to see where the
messages were being rebroadcast, Dayback said. The FCC pinpointed the
source of the interference to a single block in the borough. 

"I don't think any explanation would be legitimate," Dayback said when
asked if police knew of a motive. 

Fire Chief Harry Aumack Jr. would not comment on the situation. "First
of all, I don't really know what's going on, and I've been asked not to
talk to any reporters by [Mayor John Merla]," Aumack said. 

"I don't want anyone talking about it, because it's potential
litigation," Merla said. Merla said borough officials were advised by
Borough Attorney Wes Kain not to discuss the situation. 

Champion would not comment on the arrest or the crime when contacted. 
"I can't answer anything about that," Champion said. "I'm not allowed." 
Champion said he has not retained an attorney in the matter. 

------------------------------ 

MS - Mississippi - Fire chief steps down after complaint 

The Associated Press 

Horn Lake's fire chief has resigned following an investigation of
alleged misconduct. 

Fire Chief Leroy Bledsoe was accused of skewing the city's fire
insurance rating. The complaint was lodged by James Cook, a former
firefighter. 

Cook's accusations came after his own resignation from the department.
The investigation was based solely on the allegations by Cook. 

A Friday meeting called by the mayor to discuss whether to fire Bledsoe
ended with Bledsoe stepping down from the position. "He didn't want the
department to receive any bad publicity," Mayor Mike Thomas said. 

Bledsoe refused to comment after the meeting. Allegations against the
chief also included favoritism and sexual discrimination, city officials
said. Thomas said he found no truth to those allegations, but it was
found that files regarding the testing of fire truck pumps had been
tampered with. 

"There were questions of whether the pump tests were actually
performed," said Thomas, who added he didn't know who was to blame for
the questionable files. 
After a brief investigation, the city decided to test its fire truck's
pumping capacity this week. The pump on a truck is the part that aids
water to shoot through the hose. The Mississippi Ratings Bureau requires
the strength of those pumps to be tested once a year. The Horn Lake Fire
Department's rating is at 6. Ratings of departments affect how much
local residents pay in insurance premiums. 
Thomas said the city's current rating isn't in jeopardy.

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