Long Before Navy Yard Shooting, Military First Responders Complained of Bum radios

Radio failures reported by Navy emergency personnel responding to the Sept. 16 shootings at the Washington Navy Yard underscored problems Navy firefighters have documented since 2009, union officials said.

The transmission range was so poor, firefighters working in an incident command post within a building at the Navy Yard had to send a runner with a radio to a door in order to communicate, said Greg Russell, president of the local that represents firefighters in the Naval District of Washington. Russell also said that batteries in the radios used by firefighters, who also serve as emergency medical technicians, lost their charge within two to three hours, despite requirements that they be able to sustain a charge for eight hours.