PINE BLUFF, Ark. (KTHV) - Sometimes emergency responders have only minutes to save lives, but if their radios don’t work, they may not get the call on time.
In Pine Bluff, police officers and firefighters are using old radios that are causing a safety concern. Their radios are from the 1990’s and early 2000’s.
Many of them aren't working anymore, and they’re not repairable because they’re outdated. So, the departments are trying to find ways to fund new ones.
"Every electronic thing has a life and these have reached the end of it," said Lt. David DeFoor, Pine Bluff Police Department.
DeFoor showed us how some of them don’t allow officers to talk while some don’t send messages through. They’re hoping to get new portable and car radios costing an estimate of $593,000. That’s money the department doesn’t have.
“The only way we could do it is to cut man power and we definitely don’t want to do that," said DeFoor.
It’s the same story at the Pine Bluff Fire Department.
"This is something we're in desperate need of," said Battalion Chief Ernest Stacy, Pine Bluff Fire Department.
They need about $300,000 worth of new radios for their firefighters and fire trucks.
"We have a radio for each man. Anytime we lose a radio, that’s a man without a radio, which puts his life in jeopardy," said Stacy.
The broken radios aren't just an inconvenience, it's a safety issue. Each firefighters radio has an emergency 'man down' button that shuts down if the radio isn’t working.
Mayor Shirley Washington agreed to try and get funding through Go Forward Pine Bluff, a tax initiative voters agreed to in hopes of revitalizing the city.
“She guaranteed us we will find a way to get some radios, it’s that much of a safety factor," said Stacy.
Go Forward Pine Bluff has not announced yet whether they'll offer funds for the new radios.