Radios failed during Navy Yard attack, emergency responders say

Radios for federal firefighters and police officers failed during the mass shooting at Washington’s Navy Yard, according to union representatives for first responders.

Union officials said police and firefighters resorted to using their cellphones and radios from D.C.’s emergency responders to communicate with each other during the attack. Initially, officers found that their radios were working. But as they ventured deeper into the building where the shooting took place, their equipment stopped functioning. After the first shootout with the gunman, one officer found his radio’s battery was dead, while another officer could not receive a signal from his radio and was unable to call for help. That forced them to use an officer’s cellphone to call others outside the building.