Montreal's police and fire departments have temporarily pulled the plug on a new radio communication system.
Firefighters began using the system in September with first responders and said it worked flawlessly.
However a few days after the new system was put in use island-wide last week Montreal's fire department discovered an intermittent problem communicating with firefighters.
On Thursday night firefighters realized that messages from central dispatch were not being transmitted.
The police department came across similar problems on Friday, but at the moment only officers working in the eastern sections of the island were using the SERAM system.
"It was just one region," said Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere. "Only about 150 cars were deployed with that."
Both departments are saying that at no point was the public in any danger because there are backup systems in place, including cell phones.
The SERAM (Systeme Evolué de Radiocommunication de L'agglomeration de Montreal) digital communication system was chosen in 2011 and was supposed to be in place by the end of 2013.
The contract reportedly cost more than $40 million.
One advantage of the system is the possibility of geo-locating users, so management can track exactly where people are.
At the moment it only includes firefighters and police officers, but can be expanded to include Urgences Santé and the STM police.
