Communication system used by Montreal police, firefighters suffers outage overnight

The radio system used by Montreal police and firefighters suddenly stopped working overnight, cutting off communication for about two hours.
Thankfully, the interruption was "minor," with service restored by 4 a.m. Sunday, the Montreal police department (SPVM) confirmed. No major events occurred on the territory during the blackout.
But the police union says it isn't taking the incident lightly.
"The Fraternité is very concerned about the failures of the SERAM communication system, and has requested and obtained an emergency meeting with the employer to discuss occupational health and safety and the safety of Montrealers," reads a statement from the Fraternité des policiers et policières.
"We consider it essential that solutions be identified and implemented within a very short timeframe."
The radio system, called the SERAM, was first launched in 2014 under a 15-year contract. But the technology had issues from the beginning, with multiple service interruptions making headlines over the years.
The SERAM contract ends in 2029. The City of Montreal has yet to respond to a request for comment on whether it's considering ending the contract early.
Kevin Francoeur, prevention chief at the Montreal fire department (SIM), told TVA Nouvelles that the system should be replaced sooner rather than later.
He said police working early Sunday morning resorted to using cell phones to communicate.
Francoeur was not available for an interview with CTV News on Sunday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Monster storm in North Atlantic stretches cloud from Atlantic Canada to Portugal
A large low-pressure system centred about 750 kilometres to the northeast of Newfoundland is causing clouds to stretch all the way to Portugal.
'Trudeau can end it all': Conservative carbon tax filibuster stretches into second day
With no signs either side is ready to retreat, the marathon voting session in the House of Commons has stretched into its second day, after MPs stayed up all night rejecting Conservative attempts to defeat government spending plans over the Liberals' refusal to scrap the carbon tax.
Shohei Ohtani watch kicks into higher gear in Toronto as Blue Jays fans track private plane
Shohei Ohtani watch in Toronto has kicked into another gear.
Canadian alleges discrimination, sues federal government in effort to get grandchildren out of Gaza
A Palestinian-Canadian is suing the federal government in an effort to get his four grandchildren out of Gaza. Mohammed Nofal, 74, is alleging Global Affairs Canada and immigration officials created a discriminatory policy that denied his family help in evacuating a war zone in the days following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
'We're inside the patient, looking directly at the tumour': Gaming experience aids surgery
An Ontario teen is among the first patients in the country to have a rare type of cancer surgically removed by doctors who trained using a virtual reality system that allows them to 'walk' inside a patient's body.
'Pseudoscience': Alberta's health minister under fire for naturopathic medicine meeting
Alberta's health minister is facing pushback after taking a meeting focused on naturopathic medicine's role in the province's primary care.
2 Ontario men charged after allegedly producing recruitment videos for listed terrorist entity
Two men from Ontario have been arrested on charges of terrorism after allegedly producing recruitment videos for a listed terrorist organization and circulating far-right manifestos online, police say.
1 in 9 Canadian adults have had long-term symptoms from COVID infection: StatCan
About one in nine Canadian adults have had long-term symptoms from COVID-19 infection, according to a Statistics Canada report issued Friday.
Pompeii archaeologists uncover bakery that doubled as a prison
An ancient bakery operated by slaves has been discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, the Pompeii Archaeological Park said in a statement released Friday.