Charlotte radio dead zones block police, fire communication

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A WBTV Investigation is uncovering a major safety concern for police, firefighters and first responders at some of Charlotte’s busiest and most popular destinations.

Emergency radio dead zones were discovered in two local shopping centers and was pervasive in one of them.

The issue is so well known to the Charlotte Fire Department that a spokesperson said they had “communicated frequently with the mall management following several major responses...in which we had communications problems.”

WBTV’s Investigation and a test of the local hotspots found the problem has persisted anyway, leaving first responders and the public vulnerable in dangerous situations.

“These radios are critical to saving lives,” Ross Pierson, CEO of Pierson Wireless, told WBTV. The Charlotte based company specializes in installing signal enhancement systems that improve coverage for emergency radios and cellphones.

After WBTV’s investigation in 2023 revealed radio failures during an Uptown high-rise fire, Pierson Wireless agreed to use its technology and resources to help test emergency radio signal coverage at three locations across the county.

• Northlake Mall
• South Park Mall
• Charlotte Convention Center

Concrete, steel, energy efficient windows and other construction material are often the source of the poor emergency signals plaguing first responders. That’s why new buildings the size of a small warehouse or industrial structure are required to be tested to see if an enhancement system is needed.

Steven Thomas, a program coordinator for Pierson Wireless, served in the fire service for more than 30 years and told WBTV that having clear communication is critical to performing the job in emergency situations.

“Are they in trouble? Do they need help? Where are they at?” Thomas said. “It just becomes that much more of a dangerous situation for all of us (if radio fails).”

Results: Good Zones and Dead Zones

Using a backpack fitted with equipment and a tablet to track location and results, WBTV and Pierson Wireless walked throughout the two malls and convention center creating a map of signal strength.

North Carolina code requires the inbound signal strength to be at least –95 dBm (decibel milliwatts).

Northlake Mall

• All areas tested on the first floor were below the code requirement except for a small area in the central atrium underneath a window.
• The second floor also had slightly better coverage but still consistently recorded signal strength below –95 dBm.

South Park Mall

• Mall corridors had excellent signal strength, likely because of windows lining the roof, according to Pierson.
• A department store’s results showed slightly worse coverage on the second floor and poor signal strength on the first floor.
• Areas of the parking garage had decent signal strength but dipped below the code requirement near the CATS bus stop.

Charlotte Convention Center

• Excellent signal strength throughout the building, even in concrete encased rooms on the bottom floor.
• A spokesperson for Charlotte Fire Department noted an Emergency Radio Communicatons Enhancement System (ERCES) was installed in preparation for the 2020 Republican National Convention.

Pierson noted that their testing equipment only measured inbound signal strength and a complete test would include the radios used by first responders in Mecklenburg County to make sure communication can make it out of the building too.

Northlake isn’t required to install an ERCES because the mall was built before the new code requirements.

“It’s purely a goodwill thing of a building owner if they chose to install a system,” Pierson said.

The consequences

WBTV tried contacting Northlake Malls’ management, the Spinoso Group, but did not get a response.

In an email, a spokesperson for Charlotte Fire Department wrote that the mall does not have an ERCES and they have frequently been in communication about the issue “following several major responses to the mall in which we had communications problems.”

According to CFD, efforts to address the problem at Northlake Mall include a meeting with mall management, CMPD and Motorola in February 2023. The meeting came shortly after a shooting at the mall that sent shoppers fleeing for the exits.

Since radios can’t relay with antennas across Mecklenburg County, CFD says first responders use “talk around” channels that go radio-to-radio instead. That information must be relayed to the main emergency channels, the department explained.

“That’s not visible to the outside world,” Pierson said. “So, if something happens...somebody else listening may not get that data and may see, this is actually something bigger or not as big and maybe we need to react differently.”

The issue of radio dead zones is common according to research done by fire chiefs and industry experts.

What matters and why

First responders say their radios are one of their most important resources.

Charlotte Fire Department - “In times of emergencies, first responders must be able to communicate clearly and reliably. The portable radios that they carry into an incident is their lifeline.”

Wike Graham, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Managent Chief - “Commercial property managers should consider technology that will enhance radio coverage in their facilities...Enhancing technology will increase safety for occupants and emergency responders and potentially decrease losses or damage to the property.”

The fire department and City of Charlotte radio shop recently established a loaner radio program, where older Charlotte Fire portable radios can be used to test signals during ERCES install projects.

The fire department also uses a repeater system installed in vehicles to boost signal for first responders on certain calls.

Pierson said the most important thing building owners can do is maintain their repeater systems to make sure they’re still functioning, and install enhancement systems when renovating a building or constructing a new one.

“If something ever does happen, at least you can say we’re working on it,” Pierson said.

“That’s all we kind of try to do is just educate and let people make their best decisions.”