Lowell Fire Dept. seeks comms agreement with Will County

Communication is key when it comes to responding to a fire, and with the Lowell Fire Department providing mutual aid to Beecher, Crete and Grant Park, anything to help the line of communication with the Illinois departments is critical.

To help with that line of communication, the Lowell Fire Department is seeking an agreement with Will County, Illinois for use of their radio network while they’re on mutual aid calls in Illinois.

According to LFD chief Chris Gamblin, the agreement will be similar to what his department already has with Kankakee County. Gamblin noted the LFD is automatically dispatched to calls in Grant Park. He said his department also has similar agreements with Porter and Newton Counties as well.

“Every county pretty much has to supply its own network so police, fire and EMS can talk,” Gamblin explained. “So this is not uncommon. In order to talk on the system, you have to get permission. In order to talk on the Will County system, we need permission.