Hemphill Tower is now lighted as required by the FAA
As part of a large infrastructure investment that Franklin Police Dispatch is making in their public safety communications equipment, the Hemphill tower needed to complete registration with the FCC. During this process it was discovered that the FAA had previously determined the tower needed to be marked and lighted in accordance with FAA Advisory circular 70/7460-1 M, Obstruction Marking and Lighting. The Tower was reconstructed in 2017 in a joint effort between the Town of Bristol and Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid. That year also saw a change in leadership at the Bristol Fire Department and LRMFA, with both Chief’s coming into an already started project and both Chief’s believing that the FAA requirements had been met. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and more unfortunately we needed to light and mark the tower.
The FAA Circular is cited above, so anyone that wants to review it can review. Further, it can be seen that it is not as cut and dry as 200’ = lights, and less than 200’ = no lights. The original determination from the FAA was that we had to light and paint the tower. The cost of this would have been significant. The Town of Bristol Fire Chief worked with FAA in the hopes that they would see that this tower has little to no extension above the tree line and therefore poses the same risk as the trees that surround it for air traffic. This was unsuccessful. The FAA did determine that the Town could go with a Medium Dual System of lighting, which would mean we didn’t have to paint the tower.
The Hemphill Tower is a critical component in the communication systems of Bristol Fire and Bristol Police Departments, as well as Lakes Region Fire Dispatch and Franklin Police Dispatch, in order to continue to have this vital resource the Town was required to install the lights that now appear on the Tower. Flashing white during the day, and red at night. We understand that the new lighting is now visible and has changed the view that some previously had. We appreciate your taking the time to read this and understanding the importance of this equipment, and how little we could do to change the requirement from the FAA. We would also like to thank Ossipee Mountain Electronics and the City of Franklin for sharing the cost of this equipment ensuring that Public Safety could continue to benefit from the current tower infrastructure, and improve communications through Franklin’s ongoing upgrades and planned future upgrades for the site.
