Texas reps greenlight $1.3M for emergency communications

Funds will clear up dead spots in the city’s communication system with police cars, firetrucks and ambulances

May 18, 2011 05:02 AM

By Marty Schladen
El Paso Times

EL PASO, Texas — The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to spend $1.3 million to clear up dead spots in the city’s communication system with police cars, firetrucks and ambulances.

The city recently adopted a cellular, broadband system that allows dispatchers to send detailed information such as building plans to trucks on their way to a fire. But when the units lost their Verizon Broadband signal, it would force firefighters to log back in, costing valuable time and forcing the deployment of more resources, Fire Chief Otto Drozd said.

“We’ve been losing units,” Drozd said.

When that happens, dispatchers revert to the system in use 15 years ago. Not knowing where a vehicle in the field is, they rely on radio communication or they dispatch emergency responders from their stations, the fire chief said.

The new units will be installed in about 500 vehicles. The city is buying them from Insight Public Sector Inc. of Tempe, Ariz.

It will take about six months to install them all because Insight is facing a backlog of orders from other municipalities having similar problems with their systems, Drozd said. The units have already been installed in Fort Collins, Colo., Hunstville and Montgomery, Ala., and Tempe, city Purchasing Manager Bruce Collins said.

The new system searches constantly for the best signal, be it from a cell tower or a wireless hub, and switches seamlessly to it, Drozd said. “We’ll have on-time, actual live information,” Collins said, adding that it won’t be interrupted.

In addition to building plans, the broadband communication system gives firefighters and paramedics information such as pre-fire plans, hydrant locations, hazardous material information and patient-care instructions. For police, the system provides local, state and federal criminal-history checks, warrants and license-place checks.

911 and Dispatch