Fairfield Twp. is exploring three different options for installing call boxes at some township buildings in response to an incident in which a woman died only feet away from a firehouse door. The potentially life-saving devices could cost less than $3,000 to install, according to township officials.

The township has not yet decided which option to pursue, but it is leaning toward the installation of four call boxes, using a wireless device that would connect it to the township’s voice-over IP phone system, said Assistant Township Administrator Skylor Miller. These call boxes would connect the caller directly to the 911 dispatch.

The call boxes would be installed at four locations: the township administration building, both firehouses, and at the police department, Miller said. Each call box retails for about $700, so the equipment expense would be about $2,800. However, the township was pursuing government discounts that would bring the price for each box down to about $360, said Township Adminstrator Michael Rahall.

The different options entail exactly how the call boxes will connect to the phone lines. The township could use landlines, purchase adapters to hook it into the wireless phone system, or use a mobile device to make it wireless capable.

The mobile device is by far the cheapest option, Miller said.

“When you’re adding lines and installing, that almost tripled the cost. With this (mobile device), we can do the vast majority of the installation in-house,” he said.

Installing additional landlines would amount to about $800 per box, while connecting the boxes directly to VOIP lines could cost up to $2,800. However, the mobile devices would have a service fee of only about $20 a month, Miller said.

The boxes would be installed in response to the death of Carla Smith, 39, whose body was found in December outside the fire station on Tylersville Road. The woman’s car, which was still running, was parked nearby while her body lay about 10 feet away from the station. Rigor mortis had set in by the time she was discovered, Rahall said.

JournalNews carrier Shawn Denholm found the woman while he was out delivering papers. The Butler County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday that autopsy results are still pending. Rahall said crack cocaine had been found in the woman’s coat pocket.