January 26, 2010

New tool available to firefighters

      A new tool is now available to firefighters to improve accuracy of responses and provide additional important information while enroute to scenes.  The White River Township Fire Department recently installed additional software on each of the department's six front-line response apparatus' laptop computers.  This new software will allow company officers to receive direct information from the Greenwood dispatch center in the form of visual text as well as instant-messaging for sensitive material or crew-specific instructions.  Crews responding to emergency incidents will now be able to visually see the address on the screen in front of them, thereby eliminating any audible miscues that may have occurred along the way.

         The software was installed on already existing hardware in each of the department's rigs as part of an inter-local agreement with Johnson County.  The department has been using the computers for over three years for other purposes such as mapping, occupancy database access, hazardous material information retrieval, and general Internet access as needed.  A related story can be read by clicking HERE.
 

           
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