The History of York County Control
The following information was compiled for the 50th anniversary of the York County Department of Communications in June of 2020.
At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 26, 1970, the York County Department of Communications went on-the-air serving thirty-six York County fire companies including the York City Bureau of Fire. The communications center, known as York County Control, would phase in additional fire companies, police departments and ambulances until eventually becoming the central dispatch point for all fire, police, and emergency medical services in the county.
The idea for a county-wide radio network appears to have begun at a meeting of the York County Co-Operative Fire Fighting Association on March 16, 1953, when a committee of three fire chiefs was appointed to approach the county commissioners and the area Civil Defense communications director to seek money from the county to establish a county-wide fire radio system. At the time, only fire apparatus from West York, Red Lion, Dallastown and Yoe had two-way radios.
In August of 1953, the county commissioners retained John M. Herman, Jr. as a radio consultant for a county-wide Civil Defense two-way radio system. The county would eventually build out a radio system to be used by Civil Defense and county fire companies.
In February of 1960, Spring Garden Township Commissioner R.E. Ensminger mailed letters to every borough, and to townships in the greater York area, inviting them to a meeting on March 16th to discuss the formation of a county-wide police radio network. Representatives from twelve boroughs, five townships and the City of York attended the meeting. Weldon Brunk, a district fire chief for the Spring Garden Township Fire Department, was in attendance at the meeting, which was held at the Victory fire hall. He reported that the 65 fire companies in the county have already been equipped with radios, and were interested in a central control system offering 24-hour service and asked if the fire service could join in the project. Although there appeared to be great interest, the plan of a county-wide central control system did not come to fruition at this time. Instead, Spring Garden Township's police radio system served three other municipalities. Other regional radio systems formed in other areas of the county.
In 1967, city and county Civil Defense officials conducted an assessment of the existing radio systems within the county. The idea of a central police radio system was resurrected, and at a meeting of the Crime Clinic of York County on Wednesday, July 5, 1967 the organization officially endorsed the proposal after hearing from representatives of Chester and Lancaster Counties on the benefits of the system. By November, the Crime Clinic's proposal resulted in the county commissioners endorsing the plan, and authorizing the Crime Clinic to proceed with specifications for the installation of a 200-foot tower and equipment on Pleasureville hill. The radio system would not include the fire companies, as they had already established their own radio system through Civil Defense.
As the project continued to evolve, the idea of a central control center to handle communications for fire and police began to come into focus. On February 26, 1970, the county commissioners appointed Harmon E. Johnson, a 42-year-old retired army veteran as the county's first director of communications. He would begin his duties on March 1st.
After completion of the radio network, and the completion of the communications center in the basement of the county court house, and training of the dispatchers hired to operate the system, York County Control began operations with the following fire companies/departments as a part of the system: York City, Bair, East Prospect, Emigsville, Fawn Grove, Felton, Friendship, Goldsboro, Grangeville, Grantley, Hallam, Jefferson, Lincolnway, Mount Wolf, Nashville, North York, Parkville, Pleasant Hill, Pleasureville, Porters Sideling, Red Lion, Seven Valleys, Shiloh, Spring Grove, Springetts, Stewartstown, Stoverstown, Strinestown, Thomasville, Victory, Weiglestown, Windsor, Winterstown, Wrightsville, York Haven and York New Salem. For the first month, a city firefighter with experience in the city's radio room was assigned to County Control to assist the dispatchers if needed.
The following seven-digit telephone numbers were used to contact County Control:
927-6781
382-4874
766-0249
432-9661
259-2841
229-2165
633-7151
It would not be until 2:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, 1974 that the national emergency number, 9-1-1, would go into use in York County.
Any additions, corrections and/or comments are welcomed.