Firefighting at their fingertips

Hemet Fire Department steps up with mobile computers

11:25 PM PST on Saturday, March 4, 2006

By STEVE FETBRANDT / The Press-Enterprise

MOBILE DATA COMPUTERS

WHAT: The Hemet Fire Department has installed computers in its emergency vehicles.

WHY: To improve response time, reduce radio communications with dispatchers and enhance on-scene management during fire and medical emergencies.

COST: $150,000 for computers and software.

FUNDING: Department of Homeland Security.

HEMET - firefighters have gone high-tech.

All of the department's front-line fire engines and command vehicles are now equipped -- thanks to a $150,000 communications grant from the Department of Homeland Security -- with mobile computers that operate on cellular telephone frequencies.

Battalion Chief Jim Snodgrass said the equipment has resulted in improved response times to fire and medical calls, less on-air radio chatter between dispatchers and emergency personnel, and enhanced fire-management capability in the field.

In use for four months, the equipment became available as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center buildings in New York City.

Fire Engineer Scott Daniels, who doubles as the Hemet Fire Department's information-technology officer, said logjams in emergency communications among personnel responding to the 9/11 attack pointed out the need for sweeping upgrades across the country.

As a result, Homeland Security made grants available down to the local agency level to purchase new equipment and communications software.

CheckWidthImage(1,850,300);






Steve Fetbrandt / The Press-Enterprise

Scott Daniels, fire engineer and information technology officer for the Hemet Fire Department, demonstrates new computerized dispatching technology installed in the department's engines and command vehicles.

A number of Inland cities, including Riverside and Temecula, have been using mobile data computers in their fire equipment for more than a year. Built to military specifications, similar equipment has been common in law-enforcement vehicles for years, allowing peace officers to communicate via printed data and run license plates and driver-license numbers without tying up dispatchers.

Small But Powerful

The Panasonic Toughbook computers are industrial-strength, laptop-size notebooks permanently mounted on swiveling brackets and hard-wired into the fire engines and command vehicles.

Emergency personnel can access information either by typing on the keyboard or pressing buttons and icons on their screen.

"Most of the time, the call will come to us on our terminal faster than they can tone us out on the radio," Snodgrass said. "If we happen to be in the field, the computer will chirp at us and we'll know to look at the screen. All we have to do is push a button to let dispatch know we're responding or on scene."

The computerized data typically are more comprehensive than what firefighters normally get from voice dispatches.

Related

Video: New laptops recently installed in Hemet Fire Department engines

"As a manager, I can see which unit is assigned and who my captains and company officers are. I can look at the call and watch as my units arrive and place myself on scene," Snodgrass said. "You start to build a story on what's going on prior to your arrival, whereas in the past I had to wait until I got there."

The Need for Speed

Speed and accuracy in locating an incident also has been improved, fire officials said.

Daniels said there usually is one police and fire dispatcher on duty per shift. During busy periods, dispatchers must divide their attention among incoming 911 calls, broadcasting to emergency vehicles, and acknowledging replies, and questions from emergency personnel in the field.

In the past, firefighters in their stations would receive a tone alerting them to an incoming call. A verbal dispatch followed a short time later. But, if firefighters missed the address or other critical information, they would lose precious moments waiting for the dispatcher to re-transmit.

Now, all of the information instantly appears on their mobile data computers as dispatch receives the 911 call. That means that as soon as they receive a tone, firefighters can jump in their trucks and identify their intended location on the screen. In addition, the technology displays maps of every street in Hemet and the location of every fire hydrant.

More Opportunities

Still to come, once funding is available, Daniels said, is satellite mapping service.

As the city continues to grow and new streets are added, the service will automatically update the computer's database to show the best routes for emergency personnel to follow, taking into account potential delays and obstacles such as school crossings, railroad tracks and hazardous intersections.

Daniels said the computers also can catalogue the best way to approach a particular fire.

For example, if a blaze were to break out in the garden center at the Lowe's home-improvement store on Sanderson Avenue, firefighters would instantly know they're up against hazardous chemicals and materials such as fertilizers and pesticides.

The computer also can help firefighters identify entrances and exits where customers and employees might crowd.

"We'll even know which apartments have to be evacuated across the street because of blowing smoke and ashes," Daniels said.