Whiteville radio station rebuilds after fire destroys transmitter, takes it off the air

WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) - Radio silence has been the reality for one station for the past two months after a fire in Whiteville.

The fire burned up the FM transmitter for KOOL 103.9 back in March. Now the station is trying to rebuild. Glasgow Hicks, known to his listeners as ‘the Glassman’, has run the station out of Whiteville since 2019.

“We just like to have fun. People like the music,” Hicks said. ”When I’m on the air, I’m giving out weather, I’m giving out news, I’m giving to my community.”

Investigators said the fire at the building that housed his transmitters was caused by an electrical problem.

“It’s about 9:30 and my phone rings…so I’m like, okay, ‘hello.’ ‘Transmitters on fire!’... My FM transmitter completely gobbled up in flames,” Hicks said. “It was just a random act of God, something happened. Maybe there was a power surge, who knows?”

Hicks said he’s spent close to $20,000 trying to rebuild since the fire, but it could have cost more. Thankfully, only his FM transmitter was destroyed.

“I’ve been a broadcaster all my life. I put my heart and soul into this place,” Hicks said. “And to see that, it was sad. I’m going to be honest, if that AM transmitter burned up, we wouldn’t be sitting here. That door would be locked and we’d be done,” Hicks said.

Ever since the fire, Hicks has been streaming online. While people still listen, he says he’s itching to get back on the air.

“I can sit here and look and see we’ve got 17 people listening right now. It’s nice to know they’re out there. It’s one thing to be streaming on the internet, it’s a completely different animal to be broadcasting,” Hicks said.

Hicks recently purchased a low-power FM transmitter online. Now his station is back over the waves, but just for Whiteville proper.

With a newer and bigger transmitter, he’s hoping to be back at full capacity and reach his full audience the weekend of June 10. It will almost be three months after the fire happened.

“I can promise you this, we are going to be back bigger and better and we’re going to make you proud,” Hicks said.