The families of two Ohio firefighters killed in the line of duty are blaming digital-radio failure for their deaths.

The family of Colerain Township (Ohio) Firefighter Robin Broxterman filed a lawsuit in 2009 against Motorola Solutions. Broxterman, 37, and Firefighter Brian Shira, 31, died on scene at a 2008 Cincinnati residential fire. Their bodies were found in the basement, under a collapsed floor.

Capt. Steve Conn said publicly that lost fire trucks, which delayed arrival time, and communications failures contributed to the size of the fire and the LODDs. According to the duty report, Broxterman and Schira tried to summon help on their digital radios four to six times, but incident command never received the mayday. Specifically, radio logs allegedly show it took 7 minutes before command realized contact with the firefighters had been lost.

The fire service often questions the reliability of fireground-ready digital radios. While they support vendors’ investment in building and testing the technology in firehouses across the nation, many fire service members argue digital radios are not ready to be used safely by fire departments.

Kevin Nida, president of the California State Firefighters' Association, expressed this notion during a session at the 2011 International Wireless Communications Expo. Nida has tracked digital radio reliability in real-life through 1,300 calls daily and his accelerated technology testers: line firefighters and incident commanders. He said firefighters complain that digital radios fail them most when they are in steel- and concrete-built cities, like Los Angeles.

Also, analog signals degrade gradually as one moves farther away from the tower, digital just drops off so it’s tough to know when communication has been lost. Compounding matters is that most wildland areas in California lack communications infrastructure — particularly digital infrastructure.

"Obviously [the] digital [signal] goes further [than analog], but where we are, there's always going to be a situation when we are on the fringe," Nida said.

In response to reports of the lawsuit, Motorola — the industry's dominant player with an estimated 70% of market share — stands by its digital radios. While radio audio quality and intelligibility in fireground environments is an industry-wide issue, it is not specific to digital or analog radios or one manufacturer or spectrum band, according to a Motorola spokesman. In addition, the company continues to make great strides in technology with each version launched, such as its APX line with a two-microphone, Adaptive Beam Forming and Real Time Adaptive Noise Suppression system to enhance performance in analog and digital communications in loud environments.

The company also is proud to work regularly with local fire departments to test radios and make improvements based on their recommendations, the spokesman said.

“We also continue to work to address the issue of noise and its effect on voice transmissions,” he said. “And we are providing customers with the most comprehensive noise suppression solution available today.”

The spokesperson could not provide further comment or specific details on the pending lawsuit.

“Motorola Solutions does not comment on issues involving pending litigation,” he said.

Broxterman's mother and her husband are suing Motorola, the homeowners and others in the Hamilton County (Mo.) Court of Common Pleas on behalf of her estate.