ELYRIA — The only major stumbling block to take place the night of last year’s fire at the former General Industries factory was not the heat, smoke or flames shooting 200 feet into the air.

With more than 120 firefighters from 24 different fire departments on scene, getting everyone communicating on the same wavelength almost was a disaster. County fire chiefs are now hoping grants through the Department of Homeland Security will prevent such obstacles in the future.

At a cost of $500,000 to $750,000, Tom Kelley, head of the county’s Emergency Management Agency, said retooling fire department communications countywide is about 75 percent complete, with an expected completion date of Sept. 1.

“We won’t just have Lorain County, but western Cuyahoga, Medina, Ashland, Huron and Erie counties all in one system,” Kelley said. “We plan to do the same thing for the police departments when done with the fire departments.”

Squawking over several different radio frequencies the night of the July 3 fire was the only hindrance of the night, said Fire Capt. Joe Pronesti, then-interim fire chief who led the battle against the blaze.

“Everyone was operating on different channels and radios, and we had to coordinate a lot just to talk to each other,” he said. “It really showed us more than anything we have to strengthen communication in this county.”

To help facilitate communications, Lorain County’s EMA mobile command center set up operations near the fire. From there, Pronesti barked out orders in high-tech fashion.

“In my father’s day, the chief would have stood in the middle of the street with a portable phone,” he said. “I was in an RV with high-tech radios and gadgets looking at sophisticated computer screens.”

Still, other firefighters who arrived as mutual aid know the mobile command center will not always be available at every fire.

“It has taken us a long time and a lot of money to buy all the equipment, but soon every fire truck and every handheld radio will be the same radio,” Sheffield Fire Chief Jeff Young said.

“It will change the way this works,” he said. “Right now, the way it works at a big fire is hectic. We all have a couple of radios that match, but for most big fires you have to get portable radios from the host department. But if we’re talking another General Industries, that could be a lot of radios.”

Kelley said similar grants have come to the county in recent years. The first round went to the county engineer’s office and townships.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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