New Motorola Fireground Comm System

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Does anyone know if FDNY or any County dept is looking at this system ? The "evacuation" and "distress" features look great !

Midwest Fire Departments First Customers for Motorola Fireground Communications System

Mobile Technology Enhances Firefighter Safety and Security

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fire departments in Orland Park, Illinois and Brook Park, Ohio are the first to install Motorola's Fireground Communications System, developed to enhance the safety and security of all emergency responders at an incident scene.

The mobile communications system enables Incident Commanders to easily identify emergency responders on scene and automatically monitor their work or sector assignments. The system is also capable of identifying particular emergency responders who may be in distress by using information transmitted over portable two-way radios.

"Motorola's Fireground System is a milestone for fire service in the areas of firefighter safety and response," said Bryant Krizik, Orland Fire Battalion Chief. "With this system, the incident commander is able to electronically track firefighters working in an emergency scene, freeing up the commander to focus on tactics and other safety issues. This is clearly one piece of

equipment that will directly save lives."

The system's evacuation feature allows the incident commander to

wirelessly transmit an evacuation signal to radios on the scene, indicating the presence of immediate danger.

"The biggest concern for our department is the life safety of our

personnel on the fireground," said Inspector Pat Johnson, Brook Park Fire Department. "With the Fireground system, if the Incident Commander needs to evacuate personnel from a structure immediately, he can simultaneously send an evacuation tone to all the radios on the fireground. That saves time, and in

this business, time is critical."

The distress call feature also sends critical information quickly. With the push of a button, a distress call is activated by a firefighter and the call is sent to the Incident Commander's terminal, setting off an alert, and providing information on who initiated the call, what crew the firefighter is assigned to, and what task is being performed.

"Our firefighters will not need to send a long, detailed message if they need help," said Krizik. "If they're trapped or running out of oxygen, if they become lost or disoriented, they just need to hit a button and it's my job to find and assist them."

"The Fireground Communications System is the result of more than four years of research in the field, and a successful beta test with The City Of Tulsa Fire Department, asking firefighters, Incident Commanders and other emergency responders exactly what is needed to help them perform their jobs more safely and effectively," said Milos Grcic, business manager, Motorola

Incident Command Systems. "We will continue to work closely with the Orland Park and Brook Park fire departments as they adapt the benefits of this innovative technology to their specific needs."

Fact Sheet

Important Features of Motorola's Fireground Communications System

-- Identification: each responder's radio reports firefighter's

identification, which can be configured to display name or riding position.

-- Accountability: different channel positions on the portable radio correspond to different sector or division assignments. By changing the channel selection, accountability information is electronically transmitted to Incident Commander and is viewable on the mobile command terminal, which also automatically logs all fireground activity.

-- Channel Announcement: audibly informs the emergency responder which channel, sector or division assignment is selected on the radio.

-- Emergency Button: activates an alarm on Incident Commander's mobile command terminal, identifying the particular individual in trouble.

-- Power Down Notification: Incident Commander is informed when firefighter turns off radio, and can relay the information to the

response team.

-- Evacuation Feature: allows Incident Commander to wirelessly transmit an evacuation signal to Fireground radios on the scene and monitor acknowledgements.

-- Polling Feature: Enables Incident Commander to check if portable Fireground radios are still within coverage range and able to receive transmissions.

-- Battery Status Indicator: illustrates to the Incident Commander on the mobile command terminal the battery strength of each responder's portable Fireground radio.

Five components:

-- Motorola XTS 5000 portable radio: delivers voice communications and provides critical information to enable the Incident Commander to automatically monitor firefighter assignments from a command terminal.

-- Incident Management software: FDonScene as developed by Fieldsoft,Inc with exclusive enhancement for Motorola that enables command teams to visually monitor the assignments and activities of emergency responders as transmitted from Fireground radios; can be configured to meet specific needs.

-- Ruggedized Command Terminal: displays incident management software on a laptop, PC or mobile data terminal.

-- Digital RF modem: dedicated digital mobile radio used to monitor data transmitted from firefighters' radios and report status back to Incident Commander.

-- Portable repeater (optional): improves the RF coverage beyond that of a portable radio.

[BIGRED1 71]

man this system sounds sweet! i guess we don't get enough fire's in the manor to justify getting it, but it is sweet.