Saturday, November 7, 2009
Communications
California State Fire Association Addresses Bandwidth Issues
By Mary Rose Roberts
The California State Fire Association (CSFA) recently addressed a nagging problem. The association’s computer network had plenty of throughput, but lacked reliability and available bandwidth. Specifically, there was a lack of Internet link redundancy, and the association needed an affordable network connection larger than 1.5 Mb/s, said Monty Gearhart, director of CSFA information systems. ...
Icomera’s Bridge Connects Minnesota Emergency Vehicles
By Mary Rose Roberts
The Maple Grove (Minn.) Fire Department is custom building a communications-infrastructure truck to serve the needs of its response area, including two nuclear plants....
CFD Turns Trucks into Mobile Hot Spots
By Mary Rose Roberts
The technologies installed turn the trucks into mobile hot spots that support voice, video and data transmission from the vehicles to the city's OEMC...
Are We There Yet?
By Donny Jackson
Public-safety communications infrastructure has improved greatly since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. But questions persist as to whether the policies and plans currently in place are adequate for another event of that magnitude....
Building a Fire Department Communications System can be Tricky
By Glenn Bischoff
In 1999, the city of Phoenix decided that it needed to replace its legacy radio system, which was using four-decades-old technology and was fraught with overloaded frequencies....
Migration to Digital Communications can be a Mixed Bag
By Glenn Bischoff
When Allen County, Ohio, decided to launch a new digital radio system, the goal was to improve the quality of the communications. But while that goal seems to have been met, the effort encountered several speed bumps along the way, according to Joe Kitchen, chief of the Bath Township (Ohio) Fire Department. ...
Pass it on
By Paul Wormeli and Andrea A. Walter
A federal program aims to standardize information collection and sharing across emergency agencies....
PlantCML Unveils Call-Taker Mapping Application
By Mary Rose Roberts
PlantCML released the ORION Vela 2.0, a mapping solution that lets call-takers determine wire-line and wireless call locations for dispatching first responders...
Fire Departments Dropping Pagers in Favor of Emergency Dispatch Solution
By Lynnette Luna
Some fire departments and rescue squads are dropping their pagers in favor of an emergency dispatch solution that allows messages to be transmitted onto a host of mobile devices that fire officials already carry around....
DHS Announces Final Phase of Multiband Radio Testing
By Mary Rose Roberts
The U.S. DHS Science and Technology Directorate announced the 14 lead organizations for the upcoming pilot phase of testing and evaluation for the multiband radio project....
Back to School
By Dave Plank
A new DHS training program aims to develop and certify communications team leaders....
Nerve Center
By Mary Rose Roberts
Modern emergency operations centers are changing the nature of a fire chief's job....
Little-Known Federal Law is Causing Headaches for Grant Applicants
By Glenn Bischoff
Public-safety agencies vying for a portion of the $1 billion available through the Public Safety Interoperable Communications grant program are encountering an unforeseen roadblock...
Central Nervous System
By Jesse Theodore
The Orange County Fire Authority uses computer mapping to coordinate the activities of all parts of its organization....
EFJ Offers Lightning Control Head for Mobile Radios
By Mary Rose Roberts
EF Johnson Technologies unveiled a lightning control head for its 5300 series mobile radio to assist first responders in viewing the radio's display in a variety of operating environments....
Regardless of Incident Type, Advance Planning is Key to Response
By Glenn Bischoff
Responders at inauguration, Minneapolis bridge collapse employ CAD, talk groups and more to ease interagency communications....
Facella on fire
By Mary Rose Roberts
I spoke with John Facella — a veteran firefighter and director of public-safety systems for Tyco Electronics Wireless Systems — about the state of radio communications in our nation's fire departments....
Vendors say they are working on digital radio noise problems
By Glenn Bischoff
Two-way radio manufacturers are working diligently toward technology solutions, but for the foreseeable future best practices and training are the best way to combat the problems being encountered by firefighters...
Miami-Dade FD deploys NICE system
By Mary Rose Roberts
The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department selected NICE Systems' Inform platform and other security solutions to capture voice data and manage emergency communications...
A Real Stumper
By Lynnette Luna
Digital radio users working in noisy environments need a solution. But no magic bullet is in the offing....
Sprint Petitions Government for Emergency Network
Sprint Nextel Corp wants the government to fund a $2 billion emergency network to make first responders better able to communicate during disasters....
IAFF, USFA Radio Communications Guide
The International Association of Fire Fighters and the U.S. Fire Administration, with support from the Department of Homeland Security’s SAFECOM Program Office, released a new manual, Voice Radio Communications Guide for the Fire Service, that provides updated information on communications technology and discusses critical homeland security issues and concepts that did not exist when the original manual was first published in 1996....
Governors Tackle Interoperability
To help states ensure their communication capabilities are adequately prepared to respond to an emergency, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices announced that Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, New York and Washington have been selected to participate in the Public Safety Interoperability Communications Policy Academy: Focus on Governance....
P.A. Fire, Ambulance Crews Split Grant
Fifteen area fire and ambulance companies will split a $1 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to purchase new radios that will be compatible with updated emergency communications systems....
Letters to the Editor
Readers respond to “Bargain Bandwidth,” Sprinkler Vote...
| Commentary | Special Reports | Station Style |
|---|---|---|
|
Mutual Aid is a blog of news and views from FIRE CHIEF staff and industry experts — a virtual conversation about the issues important to you as a fire service leader. |
In Service provides information on fleet management, apparatus specifying and maintenance. Keep abreast of new trends and changes to emergency vehicle apparatus. |
Station Style focuses on the architectural design and needs of fire and emergency stations today. See the latest in design trends and learn about the Fire Station Design Awards. |
