Fire stations need certain equipment like hoses, ladders, and engines to do their jobs successfully, and in these times that also includes internet access.

Turlock’s Fire Station 3 has been having ongoing connection issues and hopes the City Council will agree to spend the needed funds for an upgrade.

Fire Station 3 at 501 E. Monte Vista Ave. is one of two fire stations connected to the City of Turlock’s internal network through a wireless connection. Connection trouble started for the station when the antenna for the wireless connections was moved from the former police department on Palm Avenue to the current Public Safety Facility on Broadway.

As a result, the connection to Fire Station 3 has been unstable and performs poorly because of a high level of interference, according to Turlock Fire Chief Tim Lohman.

Fire Station 3 needs the internet to connect with the city’s intranet system and the Records Management System.

The fire department is seeking $3,500 from the Fire Station Maintenance account to pay for a new connection. The desired option would be a 5GHz connection that would require new hardware mounted to the antenna tower at the Public Safety Facility. The technology would be a relatively new frequency and would not have as much interference.

“This option will provide the best level of wireless connection in the most efficient way,” Lohman wrote in the city report.

The Turlock City Council is expected to pass or veto the expense at the meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.