BUTLER TWP — The Butler County 911 radio system has been operational since Saturday night following problems that morning.

“As of now, the system is up and stable,” said Steve Bicehouse, county emergency services director.

Bicehouse said the problem with the system’s main frequency was detected late Saturday morning. The alert to emergency services went out at 12:34 p.m.

According to Bicehouse, the frequency used to contact emergency crews was going off and on, making it unreliable.

“It was up and down,” he said.

Although the system has other frequencies that can be used, the county played it safe by having all fire departments and ambulance services manned until the problem was fixed.

Bicehouse said the problem did not affect crews’ ability to talk to each other via the system. Police weren’t affected because 911 dispatchers are able to contact them via the computers in cruisers.

The trouble was isolated to a malfunctioning component at the 911 tower in the Sunnyview complex in Butler Township.

“The technology is old,” Bicehouse said.

The system was fully operational at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, but Bicehouse ensured it would stay up before notifying crews at 8:45 p.m.

Bicehouse said the county is creating a redundant system to be a backup to the main dispatch frequency in the future.

He said when the county is in a position to upgrade the radio system, the equipment’s single point of failure would be eliminated.