DeSoto 9-1-1 Officials Checking New Technology
Henry Bailey Jr., The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Keeping up with the latest technology is keeping members of the DeSoto Emergency 9-1-1 District Commission on the road.
The radio committee’s two members, Southaven information technology director Chris Shelton and DeSoto Emergency Services chief Bobby Storey, looked at an advanced radio system at Motorola’s research and development facility in Plantation, Fla., and the panel plans to gather twice later this month in Southaven to hear about systems to hasten help to callers from cell phones.
It’s a really big project, Shelton said at a meeting to discuss the plan, estimated to cost between $5 million to $8 million or more, to replace and upgrade by 2015 the 9-1-1 and radio infrastructure computer-driver system, which is nearing the end of its optimal life span. The project includes consoles that receive emergency calls, and the radio units used by dispatchers to alert and send whatever service is called for: firefighters, police, deputies or search and rescue.
Studying systems and options to achieve the best value and meet P-25 standards adopted by the state and set by the FCC and Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Shelton and Storey went to Florida to inspect Motorola’s APX radio system. It consists of mobile and portable radio systems, and we saw how these could interface with our new network, Shelton said. We also discussed options such as encryptions and over-the-air programming and implementation. He said Motorola has the state contract for Miss WIN, the Mississippi Wireless Interface Network, and we hope to utilize that network to build an inter-operability with other systems across the state. A committee recommendation will be made later.
Another concern, the increase in calls from cell phones in remote locations, has spurred planned sessions Nov. 13 at the Municipal Complex in Southaven to view InterAct’s SafeTown system, and a Nov. 15 demonstration of the Smart9-1-1 system marketed by AT&T. These allow dispatchers to get additional information when a cell call comes in, to better fix locations and speed help, Shelton said.
The more information we have up front, the more time we can save, he said.
At the meeting, the commission also approved some $100,732 in monthly expenses, including high-tech maintenance on the district’s four cell relay towers across the county, and a lowly debit card with a $1,000 cap for office expenses and other petty cash type needs, said commission chairman Bill Dahl.
We tried to get a credit card, but we don’t have a credit history because we’ve never borrowed any money, said 9-1-1 director Debby Dunnaway.
But that’s a good problem to have, Dahl said.
Copyright © 2012 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.