VIDEO: Firefighters rescued an elderly man from the Spokane River in Riverfront Park on Monday morning after some alert Avista workers first spotted him. The Avista employees were working to remove debris from a strainer near the Skate Ribbon at about 6:45 a.m. when one crewmember heard a man calling for help, according to the Spokane Fire Department (SFD).
- PUB DATE: 12/13/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

• Acquisition has purchase multiple of ~14X EBITDA; Expected to achieve more than 25% return on investment by the fifth year that US Digital Designs is part of Honeywell
• Combined offerings will enhance communications to first responders, eliminate manual processes, and enable faster emergency response times
• Suite of hardware and software solutions will provide first responders with more accurate information, enabling better situational awareness before they even arrive onsite
• Acquisition expands Honeywell’s already large portfolio of products, which help customers meet their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals

ATLANTA – December 13, 2021 – Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) today announced it has agreed to acquire privately held US Digital Designs, Inc., a Tempe, Ariz.-based company, for a purchase multiple of ~14X EBITDA in an all-cash transaction. The company delivers alerting and dispatch communications solutions, which enhance first responders’ efficacy and enable faster emergency response times.

US Digital Designs’ EBITDA margins are accretive to Honeywell, and Honeywell is expected to achieve a return on investment of greater than 25% by the fifth year that US Digital Designs is part of Honeywell.

The acquisition will be integrated into Honeywell’s Fire and Connected Life Safety systems business and will expand Honeywell’s line of solutions for public safety communications, providing first responders with better situational awareness of building emergencies and improved life safety. When combined with Honeywell’s solutions, US Digital Designs’ offerings will securely transmit detailed data about the emergency, such as the type of hazard, severity, and location within the impacted building, all before first responders even arrive onsite.

The existing communications infrastructure between fire stations and emergency centers often uses legacy, manual technology, which slows response times and affects the accuracy of transmitted information. In contrast, solutions from US Digital Designs instantaneously connect dispatch centers to fire stations, improving both the quality of the information shared and the time it takes for first responders to arrive at an emergency. It is estimated that in the coming years, aligned to pending federal legislation to improve the 911 system, several billions will be invested in the United States alone to upgrade legacy alarm infrastructure to provide faster, more precise alarm alerting to first responders.

“The future of public safety relies on technology. We are integrating intelligence throughout the fire alarm transmission process – from the fire panel to the first responders – and providing uninterrupted communications to first responders,” said Doug Wright, president and chief executive officer, Honeywell Building Technologies. “Integrating US Digital Designs’ fire station alerting capabilities with Honeywell’s Connected Life Safety Services will allow us to eliminate manual processes and significantly reduce response time. Helping first responders arrive faster on site means potentially saving more lives and providing a higher level of asset protection.”

US Digital Designs’ suite of hardware and software solutions, which includes dispatch communication aids and mobile alerting applications, provides situational awareness and helps reduce response times. US Digital Designs also offers solutions that awaken first responders with soft-start LED lighting and audio alerts that are less disruptive.

The offerings complement Honeywell’s suite of solutions that help its customers meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, including improving safety for first responders.

“We are pleased to join the Honeywell team and support its efforts to add more automatio

Family, friends and fellow firefighters on Sunday honored Seattle Fire Department Deputy Chief Jay Schreckengost as he was laid to rest after his accidental death last month in Kittitas County. Dozens of people attended the largely private memorial for Schreckengost, which was held at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue under gray, cloudy skies.
- PUB DATE: 12/12/2021 2:59:32 PM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

A new fire station is set for construction in McCordsville after the Vernon Township (IN) Fire Department secured more than $7.1 million in bonds, a process that began two years ago, reports youarecurrent.com.

The station will be at 600 West and will be surrounded by senior living communities, just north of the railroad tracks that divide McCordsville and Fortville, the report says.

Officials say McCordsville is receiving full-time firefighters and paramedics from the Fortville station, but by January 1 the Vernon Township Fire Department will have full-time firefighter and EMT crews living at the volunteer station until the new facility is ready.

Construction is expected to begin in June and will take eight months, and the belief is that it will be operational at some point in 2023.

The Vernon Township Fire Department was formed in 2019, and the Vernon Township Fire Territory was formed the following year as a cooperative effort of Vernon Township, the town of McCordsville, and the town of Fortville, according to the report.

Decommissioned Fire Station 41 on Silver Street in Lebanon (OH) will soon become The Lebanon Brewing company.

The city says on Facebook that on Wednesday “the deed has been signed and the sale is finalized! This morning, the Lebanon Brewing Company officially took ownership of the decommissioned Station 41 on Silver Street. We are excited to welcome the Lebanon Brewing Company to Downtown Lebanon and look forward to seeing the progress they make to transform the space for their spring 2022 opening!”

“We anticipate beginning our project toward the end of this year as the new fire station is completed and Station 41 becomes available,” the brewing company says. “We will be working hard to complete our brewpub and are targeting a spring, 2022 Grand Opening!

“The LBC will be a family-friendly, experience driven establishment. We will offer an outstanding range of American craft beer, our own line of hard seltzer, and house-made non-alcoholic beverages including craft soda, lemonade, and cold brew coffee!”