MIRAMAR--The City Commission recently authorized the Fire Department to spend $467,475 on equipment that will allow Fire-Rescue workers to share vital information much quicker with Broward County.

By spending this money, Miramar is entering Phase II of an agreement between the Miramar Fire Department and Broward County

Phase I began in December, after Fire-Rescue of Broward County came under the auspices of the Broward Sheriff's Office, said Mike Conlan, chief of the Fire Department's administrative services division.

The goal of the agreement is to establish a regional communication plan with two major objectives: radio interoperability, or radio communications from one city to another, and closest unit response, said Gene Vardaman, director of communications systems technology with the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Of the $467,475 being used for Phase II, $298,975 will pay for Motorola mobile data computers and software interfaces that will link the city's Computer-Aided Dispatch system and record management system to the county, Fire-Rescue Chief James L. Hunt said. The remainder, $168,500, will go toward the purchase of Computer 9-1-1 Direct equipment.

The new dispatch system will let Fire-Rescue workers see pertinent information on the scene through a screen in their vehicles. Computers will be onboard every rescue unit.

"With [the new system] we can get instant information on, say, a hazardous condition, or health problems of an occupant, that we can access from the computers," Hunt said.

He cited examples where sharing of information between Broward's communities would be valuable.

"If a Miramar [rescue unit] is in Hollywood, and something comes down, and Miramar is closer, Miramar would be dispatched in addition. [It] could be someone with a heart attack, then it would be much wiser for our unit to go," he said.

As part of Phase I, which cost almost $400,000, the city finished installing a radio system in February. CAD equipment is in the process of being set up, with a target date of June 7, Conlan said.

According to Vardaman, Miramar will be the first city in Broward to achieve radio interoperability with the Sheriff's Office.

"It's a big thing for Broward County because we're able to achieve the radio communications between agencies. We think we're ahead of the rest of the country in terms of what we're trying to achieve," he said. "By buying the units to equip all the vehicles, they're going to have all this information to make decisions."

(source) Sun Sentinel (Laura Burdick-Sherman) 3-31-04