Fire Department purchases improved information system

 

By David Wallace

C & G Staff Writer

     The Clinton Township Fire Department looks forward to improved efficiency after the Clinton Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved an expenditure of almost $454,000 to improve its information system.

     The improved information system meets the Fire Department’s needs as it expands to five fire stations. Fire Chief John Murphy said the system currently in use after 11 years is still a relatively good system, but it lacks the ability to expand for the fifth station. The current system uses DOS for its operating system and no longer has support; the new system is Microsoft Windows-based.

     A major plus to the new system is integration. The current system does not integrate the computer-aided dispatch with the department’s records management systems. The new system solves that problem.

     “So you make an entry — you don’t have to do it (multiple) times,” said Murphy.

     The dispatch starts the incident report — information such as the date, time and responding vehicles — and can tie in information such as inspections, violations and a site’s history or any special circumstances.

     The new dispatch system allows firefighters to get mapping in the field. The system can deliver a map to computers in the trucks. Currently, firefighters take their paper maps with them.

     “It’s a little bit faster for the guys out the door,” said Bernadette Battani, fire administrative supervisor. She manages the department’s computer systems.

     Tablet computers will also allow fire inspectors to input information in the field.

     Other software that keeps track of personnel should help the incident commander on the scene of an emergency.

     “The incident commander will be able to see who’s doing what job and who needs rehab,” explained Battani. “Rehab” means rest. The software eliminates the need to keep track of people manually on paper.

     Firefighters also will have the ability to talk to each other without using the radio through text messaging.

     The department plans to introduce the new system in phases.

     “We are shooting for the first of the year for the first phase, which is (computer-aided dispatch),” said Battani.

     The next phase is the records management system and then the mobile capability.

     The Fire Department advertised for bids for the system and sent bid requests directly to at least five fire computer-aided dispatch and records management system providers. Only one, VisionAir, responded with the roughly $454,000 quote. The Fire Department recommended the bid, noting that St. Clair County recently chose VisionAir to provide service for 17 fire departments, eight police departments and four ambulance services.

     The Fire Department also liked VisionAir because it said it could convert the department’s current archives to be compatible with the new system.

     The Fire Department included the improved system in its budget.

     You can reach David Wallace at dwallace@candgnews.com