Targeted News Service
AURORA, Ill. — The City of Aurora’s enhanced digital radio and 911 systems are slated to go live by December 1, City officials announced today.
The systems which feature the latest technology available, work in tandem to not only replace the outdated equipment currently in use, but to also address nationwide consensus in the emergency response professions that municipal police, fire, and emergency management agencies be interoperable by 2012. The consensuses were the result of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
The systems, which operate in large part off of the City’s 43 mile fiber optic ring, coincide with the move of Aurora’s emergency 911 Center to the Aurora Police Department’s new headquarters at 1200 E. Indian Trail. Operators at the center dispatch emergency police, fire, and ambulance calls to first responders in both Aurora and North Aurora.
The new radio system is the result of a joint purchasing agreement with the City of Naperville and came after the establishment in 2006 of the Northeast Illinois Communications Consortium (NICC), a group of eight local government agencies tasked with upgrading their radio systems to make them interoperable.
Aurora and Naperville are the first in the consortium to purchase new radio systems effectively putting two systems on one network. Because both communities simultaneously purchased the new technology, more than $2.5 million in taxpayer money was saved. Aurora spent approximately $14 million on the new radio system.
The new radio technology offers first responders:
- Enhanced in-building and outdoor radio coverage both in scope and quality.
- Elimination of personnel being able to “walk over” one another’s radio transmissions which frequently occurs during “hot” emergency calls. The elimination of walk-over enhances first responder safety and appropriate response.
- Over double the “talk paths” of the existing analog radio system allowing simultaneous communication on different channels according to geography or assignment.
- Easy adaptability to communicate with other agencies who may not operate on the same digital frequency as Aurora or which may still be operating with analog technology.
Although mainly used by the police and fire departments, the system will also be utilized daily by employees who perform essential City services such as street and sewer maintenance. All City departments will be able to effectively communicate on the new radio system in the event of a major catastrophe.
The new radio system will seamlessly integrate with Aurora’s new 911 system which consists of new technology for 911 call delivery; along with the digital audio recording of all radio traffic and 911 telephone calls, GPS mapping, and fire station alerting.
Officials say the GPS mapping features of the upgraded system allow for better response to police officers who find themselves in threatening situations as their coordinates will be automatically transmitted when they push the emergency button on their portable radios.
The GPS coordinates of fire department vehicles are constantly transmitted so that emergency operators can dispatch units closest to where they are needed.
Both systems feature several layers of built-in redundancy including microwave and 4g wireless communication backup to greatly minimize the chance of total communication breakdown. Because of their similar size, 911 calls placed to Aurora will be rerouted to Naperville in the event of a major telephone system malfunction. Aurora’s first responders can also utilize Naperville’s radio system if needed.
Because of the greatly increased size of the new 911 center, dispatchers will be able to take advantage of multiple resources that required room for equipment that is not available in the current facility.
The resources include additional applications first responders could not take advantage of in the current computer aided dispatch system along with a variety of technology from outside agencies that use the internet for communication.
“These new systems enhance the safety of our citizens and our first responders”, said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner. “Because of the close partnership forged between Aurora and Naperville, we also saved a significant amount of taxpayer money which demonstrates a real ‘win-win’ for everyone involved.”
Greg Thomas, Aurora Chief of Police said, “To quote a famous line from the movie, Apollo 13, ‘Failure is not an option.’ In order to insure that we serve and protect the community and to insure that our officers are safe when performing their duties, the 9-1-1 phone system, the computer system, and the radio system have to work exceptionally well. We cannot have someone call 9-1-1 only to have it fail, or an officer call for help and their radio fails. This latest technology helps our professional and dedicated telecommunications operators and police officers serve and protect the community.”
Aurora Fire Chief Hal Carlson added, “Not only will emergency crews benefit from clear communications, they will also be able to communicate in areas inside of buildings that have presented challenges in the past. The versatility of the radios will not only allow the department to communicate between our units, they will allow us to communicate with other agencies during state or nationwide deployments.”
The new 911 system is slated to go live on November 30 while the radio system will be operational the following day.
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