Trumbull County Commissioners voted to approve the use of American Rescue Plan funds to improve communication for first responders in the county, particularly the eastern-half.

Currently, communities like Fowler, Vernon, Brookfield, Vienna, Johnston, and Kinsman use MARCS, a multi-agency radio communication system are dealing with dead spots in the county--resulting in unreliable communication with dispatch as well as other fire and police departments.

This $1.7 million project, which includes constructing a new radio tower in Brookfield, new operational equipment, and housing for the equipment...will run the county $875,000 of ARP funding, with the state matching that total.

"I'm very happy to see that the commissioners have approved everything to open the gates up, to get this going.", said Doug Johnson, a captain with the Fowler Fire Department. 

Johnson says he's had to use his cell phone to get ahold of other departments when the MARCS system didn't work.  Yesterday, a first responder at a fire in Brookfield was unable to relay important details to dispatchers.  For first responders--communication is vital.

"That is extremely dangerous, that could put somebody's life in jeopardy and even possibly kill somebody.", Johnson emphasized.

When asked about the future upgrades--Johnson says they will make a 98-percent improvement to the system.

County leaders were happy to get the ball rolling, commissioner Denny Malloy telling 21 News he hopes the state, which is in charge of the construction moves quickly.

"We hope that they start work immediately, so we can fill that gap for our citizens.", Malloy explained.

County commissioner Niki Frenchko has been involved with this process from the beginning and says its a big step.

" It's exciting to see areas where there was spotty coverage to have full coverage--it's really going to help with our southeastern townships." said Frenchko.