By Leann Eckroth
The Bismarck Tribune
BURLEIGH COUNTY, N.D. — Major upgrades are planned for local emergency communication systems this spring.
The Combined Communication User Board this week weighed activating up to $400,000 in new information systems.
Mike Dannenfelzer, communications manager for the Combined Communications Center, said new programs will include an automated vehicle locator, the Looking Glass Mobile Mapping System and the Mobile Data Browsers. These complement the computer-aided dispatch systems in place since 2000.
The Automated Vehicle Locator improvements would allow a dispatcher to pinpoint where emergency vehicles are so they can assign the nearest officer or ambulance to the scene of the emergency. Part of the process involves installing global positioning systems in the vehicles.
An officer will be able to view criminal records of a suspect from the laptop of a police vehicle through the Mobile Data Browser.
“An officer could look at an incident report or criminal history,” Dannenfelzer said. “It can help emergency officials in dealing with hazardous materials.
“This keeps officers out in the field, They don’t have to go back to the station to do their research,” he said. “The technology keeps them moving and they can respond to more calls.”
He said the Looking Glass Mobile mapping program would prove useful to law enforcement, firefighters and ambulance crews. “It gives them digitized street maps and building maps,” he said. He said this saves time as both can share information at the same time during an incident.
Dannenfelzer said the Combined Communication User Board will meet again in November.
Its next step is to seek a bidding waiver from the Bismarck City Commission. He said the new programs have been heavily researched and are more adaptable to current software than a different company.
The Burleigh County Commission also will be asked to skip bidding and approve using 911 funds to pay for the improvements. The 911 funds come from a fee tacked on to monthly phone bills and are earmarked for emergency equipment.
Dannenfelzer said the computer systems will be added to 50 vehicles for city and county law enforcement, ambulance and fire. The system will be able to give and receive more data if county highway and city public works vehicles are added.
The Combined Communication User Board is represented by the Bismarck City Commission, Burleigh County Commission, Bismarck police chief, Burleigh County sheriff, the Bismarck fire chief, the rural fire department and the Metro Area Ambulance.
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