Bill

FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NOVA SCOTIA
Last updated November 22, 2011

Please note that the following information comes from a variety of sources, and corrections and clarifications are always welcome. I do not mean to represent this information as being definitive. Please email to marscan1 AT gmail.com

The structure of fire department communications in Cumberland has radically changed as of October 2011. Most departments have become part of a unified paging and communications system as described below but a few departments are independent of this. Regardles of that status it is expected that all departments would remain capable of using the standard Nova Scotia VHF mutual aid simplex frequency (153.83 MHz).

It is expected that departments also have access to one or more of the provincial fire grid repeaters serving Cumberland. These are:

Site	Output	Input	CTCSS	Area served
Kirkhill	151.895	154.16	114.8	Parrsboro area
Sugarloaf	151.925	154.10	114.8	North and E. Cumberland
Salem*	150.425	149.47	??	Amherst area

*This is a former Dept of Transportation repeater.

1. INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENTS:

The following departments are not part of the 2011 unified system described farther down the page. These listings are incomplete. Where more than one frequency is indicated it is not known what the difference in usage might be. It must be speculated that these departments would program the frequencies for the new unified system for use in mutual aid situations even normally they are not part of the system.

*Springhill has installed a MOTOTRBO system and for a time pages were not listenable on scanners, but more recently the pages have returned to conventional transmissions and can be monitored. It is unknown if subsequent communications utilize the MOTOTRBO capabilities. Springhill would most likely have to retain some conventional capabiliities in order to participate in mutual aid situations.

**It is unclear if Oxford will be part of the new unified system. Sources indicate that Oxford has been allocated a place in the new unified system but as of mid-November 2011 it was still using its own system while departments around it had converted.

A set of repeaters with an output of 152.750 MHz (input 158.010) has been established. Details of this system are not complete as of this last update. The departments listed on the chart below are part of the system. Pages are transmitted via the repeaters.

At present it is not clear which site some of the departments are associated with. Those that are known are listed with the particular site. Others are listed below the chart.

At this time it is not known if there is an associated set of simplex OPS frequencies such as are used in the systems in Colchester and East Hants. Continued perusal of TAFL may yield some results over time. Frequencies previously listed for departments prior to the implementation of this new system are also shown, as these may have been retained as the OPS channels or for private use.

Site	CTCSS	Department with previous frequencies (other than IMRS) that may still be in use.
Salem (NSIMRS site?)	77.0	Leicester (155.865 Sx) Truemanville (150.425 Salem IMRS)
Lorneville	103.5	Tidnish Bridge (153.965 out/158.965 in)
Advocate	136.5	Advocate Harbour (152.315 out/157.890 in. Also 169.425)
Southampton	82.5	Southampton (151.220 Sx)
Sugarloaf (NSIMRS site)	107.2	Collingwood (151.925 Sugarloaf IMRS) Westchester (151.925 Sugarloaf IMRS) Wentworth (153.485 Sx)
Pugwash (possibly located at Middleboro)	91.5	Pugwash (153.785 Sx) Wallace (154.800 Sx, 152.165 Sx)
Joggins	97.4	Joggins (151.250 Sx) River Hebert (151.145 Sx)
Springhill	114.8	?

Departments that are part of the system but not known yet which site they use.

Shinimacas (154.445 Sx)

FPW Fox/PtGrev/WardsBrk (151.325 out/154.280 in) [most likely uses the Advocate site]

Links: There is some speculation in this description. Valley Dispatch in Kentville transmits directly to Sugarloaf on 138.33 and activates a backwards repeater (xmt on 158.010) which inputs with appropriate CTCSS the various county repeaters outputting on 152.75. The backwards repeater listens on 152.75 and sends the traffic onward to Kentville on 142.32.

There is a possible link from Valley on 142.92 to Kirkhill, with the reciprocal being 138.93. This could be the link to Parrsboro to and from Valley Dispatch.

Until recently TAFL listed a one-way link frequency from Valley to Sugarloaf on 140.895. This apparently inputted the Sugarloaf IMRS repeater on 151.925 MHz. It is not known why Valley did not use the normal 154.10 input to this repeater, and I have not had it verified that the province has modified this repeater to accept dual inputs. Therefore this link remains a mystery.

Other Uncertainties: In addition to the sites shown in the chart, older information indicated sites at or near Port Greville and at Kirkhill, near Parrsboro. It is not entirely clear if these sites or substitutes actually exist, particularly as observers have detected two other CTCSS on 152.75: 100.0 and 151.4 Hz. One possibility communicated to me is that a site was planned to serve Parrsboro but that town elected to not join the system, and that the planned site for Port Greville was found to be unnecessary due to coverage from Advocate. Other information suggests a site called "Powerstop" but it is not known at all where that might be, or if it was actually put into service.

Department	Freq	Other Freq	Dispatch Service
Town of Amherst	154.415 Sx	169.47 Sx	AMHERST PD
Town of Springhill*	151.415 out/155.28 in	143.445 out/148.435 in (PD), 167.085 out/162.105 in (PW)	SPRINGHILL PD
Town of Oxford**	169.440 out/173.70 in	Link Kentville (Valley Disp) to Clairmont 414.925 MHz with return to Kentville on 419.925 MHz. It is speculated that Oxford's VHF repeater is at Clairmont even though TAFL indicates it is at Oxford.	VALLEY DISPATCH
Town of Parrsboro	154.220 Sx	157.635 Sx (PW)	VALLEY DISPATCH