INVESTIGATES: Internal computer network issues have JFRD ‘riding blind;’ City denies tie to outage

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax’s Ben Becker has learned the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department is suffering from internal computer issues, that the City of Jacksonville denies are tied to network issues throughout multiple departments that were first announced on Sept. 11.

A source tells Becker JFRD crews are “riding blind” and the network issues could “potentially delay life-saving information” from getting to firefighters on calls.

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Becker obtained multiple emails that show JFRD’s mobile data terminals (MDTs) are currently non-operational in the field. Crews use MDTs – which are basically hotspots - to get information from dispatch on computers. Instead, messages are being transmitted via radio which a source says creates a “potential public safety issue” because dispatchers are overloaded, which could lead to delays or mistakes.

The critical information includes updated 911 addresses and victim details.

RELATED: ‘Completely not true:’ Mayor’s office denies internal city computer network issues were kept a secret

“The MDT issue began before Wednesday, Sept. 11 and is unrelated to the recent network issues the City of Jacksonville has been experiencing,” a city spokesperson said.

Becker then asked when the issue began, the spokesperson sent Becker a JFRD email dated Sept. 10 at 10:49 a.m. that said “ITD is aware of the MDT connectivity issue and are actively working on a fix. Updates will be sent out when they are available.”

RELATED: Sources: FBI and Homeland Security offering ‘support’ as City of Jacksonville deals with computer network issue

When Becker asked if that suggests this was the first sign of trouble, the city said cited two previous emails on June 25 and July 8 that detailed what appeared to be a few minor update issues for MDTs, but the city admitted in subsequent email exchanges the current malfunction is different from any that may have presented themselves in the past. Acton News Jax was asked by the city not to post any of the internal documents for public review as it could compromise security, but Becker’s source did review them for accuracy.

Becker learned the city network was shut down for an update Monday evening and it did not appear to reestablish any connections that have been lost.

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This comes as the City of Jacksonville first announced Sept. 11 that numerous departments were impacted by widespread computer issues, that impacted services for residents. At that time, the city had not publicly acknowledged internal issues, except when Becker received information from sources that the city then confirmed. In addition, the city has maintained it has not been a victim of a cyber-attack, but sources told Becker both the FBI and Homeland Security joined city leaders at an emergency operations center meeting last Friday to offer “support.”

Last Friday, the city indicated in an email sent to local media that services were restored and there were currently no issues at varying departments, including JFRD. While the email suggested everything was fixed, the city admits that’s not the case.

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“The city’s network update on Friday, September 13 referenced citizen-facing services, and our technology team monitored throughout the weekend, while focusing on getting the Public Defender’s Office up and running,” said a city spokesperson. “As we said on Wednesday, JFRD has contingency plans in place to ensure that interruptions do not affect emergency responses. It is a complete falsehood to imply that the public or first responders were ever in danger because of recent technology challenges.”

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