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Posted: Oct 9, 2017
By Alan M. Petrillo
The portable radio is the lifeline link between each firefighter and team members as well as incident command. New developments in handheld portable radios and how those radios are integrated with other fireground equipment are giving firefighters more efficient, safer communications on fire scenes.
Multiband Capability
Mark Krizik, sales specialist for Motorola Solutions Inc., says Motorola’s APX is the company’s latest P25 portable radio line of products for the fire service. “APX 8000XE is our latest portable, which now includes all frequency bands that public safety in the United States uses: VHF, UHF, 700 megahertz (MHz), and 800-MHz radio bands,” Krizik points out. “A lot of fire departments have automatic mutual-aid agreements with neighboring departments and often have to respond where one department is on a 700- or 800-MHz trunk system and another is on a VHF frequency band. Firefighters can use the APX 8000XE channel selector to switch between them.” Motorola also makes the APX 7000 dual-band portable radio as well as the APX 6000 single-band radio.
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| 1 Motorola Solutions Inc. makes the APX 8000XE portable radio that includes all frequency bands used by public safety agencies in the United States. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Motorola Solutions Inc.) |
Dave Brandkamp, national sales manager for JVCKENWOOD, says his company makes a variety of portable radios used by the fire service, including a product that is capable of the three most popular digital protocols used in the United States: P25, NXDN, and DMR. “Many factors, such as interagency required feature sets and funding, determine the model that is best suited to a particular agency,” Brandkamp says. “Our NX-5000 series portable offers user trimode multiprotocol capability in a single-band configuration. Our Viking series of P25 (including SmartNet/SmartZone) portables offers multi and single-band operation, as well as perpetual licensing of application software, such as P25 trunking both phase 1 and 2.”
Pam Cowan, senior communications manager for Harris Corporation, says the two most popular Harris portables used by fire departments are the multiband XL-200P and the XG-75P. “Our XL-200P was the first solution to integrate LMR push-to-talk (PTT) and broadband PTT functionality in the same portable radio unit,” Cowan says. Both the XL-200P and the XG-75P usually are used with Harris’s immersion and high-visibility options, she adds.
Bluetooth Communication
Motorola’s APX series has Bluetooth as standard on its portables, allowing Bluetooth mics and speakers on self-contained breathing apparatus face pieces to pick up clearer audio transmissions, Krizik says. Also, APX radios can be outfitted with a person-down option, so if a firefighter goes horizontal and doesn’t move for 30 seconds, the radio alerts. “A new feature in the APX 8000XE is the emergency ‘find me’ feature,” Krizik says. “Using Bluetooth technology, if a firefighter activates the orange emergency button or if the person-down option activates, other firefighter radios in range of 100 to 200 feet will pick up the emergency signal.”
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Posted: Oct 9, 2017
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Chris Mc Loone |
As I write this, Houston, Texas, is still enduring the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
The rains have not stopped, and the water continues to rise. The images and video coming from the region are striking, and stories of weary rescuers trying to keep up with calls for assistance remind us all how taxing these storms can be and how they stress the emergency response systems in place. The Federal Emergency Mangement Agency has deployed as well as the U.S. Coast Guard.
There are two images that stick out in my mind so far as I follow the stories coming out of that region. One is of a Houston (TX) Fire Department’s pumper completely submerged, and the other is of a fire department pumper covered in debris from the collapsed fire station in which it was housed.
The images are dramatic, and they show how quickly a natural disaster can impact the men and women who pledge to protect their communities; how suddenly these men and women can go from being rescuers to being rescued. These images also serve as reminders to all fire departments to prepare for before and after the fire.
No matter how good our meteorological technology gets, Mother Nature throws a wrench in the works any time she wants. We’ve all been there for the busts - ensuring the station is staffed during the storm only to have it track just enough east or west for it not to have any impact on the region we’re covering. And, we’ve all been there for the surprises when remnants of a storm come through overnight, surprising the weather forecasters and responders alike. How many times have we put on the chains for snow only to not need them? But, sometimes we find ourselves driving with the chains to a working job, trying to control the urge to go faster than the chains will allow us to.
A few years ago, we were on duty at the station overnight for a hurricane that started off with a bang but quickly moved away. But, during the time we were in the thick of it, we were responding to multiple calls through some heavy rains and winds. During one response, a tree came down right across the bumper of one of our engines - tore the bell right off the side of the truck. Were it not for the operator driving for the conditions he faced and having enough time to slow down as the tree fell, it easily could have fallen on the cab, which was fully staffed (driver, officer, crew of six).
Storms can sometimes be hit or miss. Sometimes there is no doubt a region will take a direct hit, and other times, despite the best of intentions, the best forecasters can say is, “It depends on the track of the storm.” The key is for fire departments to be prepared.
By prepared, in this case, I mean prepared at the station. Does your department carry enough insurance on the building and everything kept in it should a disaster strike? In recent months we’ve covered station fires, but what about a department like the one in Tivoli, Texas, where Hurricane Harvey took out the fire station, collapsing it on top of its apparatus? Is your department prepared to cover the replacement of the structure and possibly the apparatus - along with whatever equipment is damaged?
Is your department prepared for the length of time it will take to replace the building or rigs inside of it? We had damage to our bumper when the tree came down, the bell required replacement, and where the bell was mounted required some body work. This didn’t take place overnight. Calling out the insurance adjuster (who is
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- 163
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Oct 9, 2017
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|
Chris Mc Loone |
As I write this, Houston, Texas, is still enduring the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
The rains have not stopped, and the water continues to rise. The images and video coming from the region are striking, and stories of weary rescuers trying to keep up with calls for assistance remind us all how taxing these storms can be and how they stress the emergency response systems in place. The Federal Emergency Mangement Agency has deployed as well as the U.S. Coast Guard.
There are two images that stick out in my mind so far as I follow the stories coming out of that region. One is of a Houston (TX) Fire Department’s pumper completely submerged, and the other is of a fire department pumper covered in debris from the collapsed fire station in which it was housed.
The images are dramatic, and they show how quickly a natural disaster can impact the men and women who pledge to protect their communities; how suddenly these men and women can go from being rescuers to being rescued. These images also serve as reminders to all fire departments to prepare for before and after the fire.
No matter how good our meteorological technology gets, Mother Nature throws a wrench in the works any time she wants. We’ve all been there for the busts - ensuring the station is staffed during the storm only to have it track just enough east or west for it not to have any impact on the region we’re covering. And, we’ve all been there for the surprises when remnants of a storm come through overnight, surprising the weather forecasters and responders alike. How many times have we put on the chains for snow only to not need them? But, sometimes we find ourselves driving with the chains to a working job, trying to control the urge to go faster than the chains will allow us to.
A few years ago, we were on duty at the station overnight for a hurricane that started off with a bang but quickly moved away. But, during the time we were in the thick of it, we were responding to multiple calls through some heavy rains and winds. During one response, a tree came down right across the bumper of one of our engines - tore the bell right off the side of the truck. Were it not for the operator driving for the conditions he faced and having enough time to slow down as the tree fell, it easily could have fallen on the cab, which was fully staffed (driver, officer, crew of six).
Storms can sometimes be hit or miss. Sometimes there is no doubt a region will take a direct hit, and other times, despite the best of intentions, the best forecasters can say is, “It depends on the track of the storm.” The key is for fire departments to be prepared.
By prepared, in this case, I mean prepared at the station. Does your department carry enough insurance on the building and everything kept in it should a disaster strike? In recent months we’ve covered station fires, but what about a department like the one in Tivoli, Texas, where Hurricane Harvey took out the fire station, collapsing it on top of its apparatus? Is your department prepared to cover the replacement of the structure and possibly the apparatus - along with whatever equipment is damaged?
Is your department prepared for the length of time it will take to replace the building or rigs inside of it? We had damage to our bumper when the tree came down, the bell required replacement, and where the bell was mounted required some body work. This didn’t take place overnight. Calling out the insurance adjuster (who is
Read more
- 205
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Oct 9, 2017
|
|
Chris Mc Loone |
As I write this, Houston, Texas, is still enduring the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
The rains have not stopped, and the water continues to rise. The images and video coming from the region are striking, and stories of weary rescuers trying to keep up with calls for assistance remind us all how taxing these storms can be and how they stress the emergency response systems in place. The Federal Emergency Mangement Agency has deployed as well as the U.S. Coast Guard.
There are two images that stick out in my mind so far as I follow the stories coming out of that region. One is of a Houston (TX) Fire Department’s pumper completely submerged, and the other is of a fire department pumper covered in debris from the collapsed fire station in which it was housed.
The images are dramatic, and they show how quickly a natural disaster can impact the men and women who pledge to protect their communities; how suddenly these men and women can go from being rescuers to being rescued. These images also serve as reminders to all fire departments to prepare for before and after the fire.
No matter how good our meteorological technology gets, Mother Nature throws a wrench in the works any time she wants. We’ve all been there for the busts - ensuring the station is staffed during the storm only to have it track just enough east or west for it not to have any impact on the region we’re covering. And, we’ve all been there for the surprises when remnants of a storm come through overnight, surprising the weather forecasters and responders alike. How many times have we put on the chains for snow only to not need them? But, sometimes we find ourselves driving with the chains to a working job, trying to control the urge to go faster than the chains will allow us to.
A few years ago, we were on duty at the station overnight for a hurricane that started off with a bang but quickly moved away. But, during the time we were in the thick of it, we were responding to multiple calls through some heavy rains and winds. During one response, a tree came down right across the bumper of one of our engines - tore the bell right off the side of the truck. Were it not for the operator driving for the conditions he faced and having enough time to slow down as the tree fell, it easily could have fallen on the cab, which was fully staffed (driver, officer, crew of six).
Storms can sometimes be hit or miss. Sometimes there is no doubt a region will take a direct hit, and other times, despite the best of intentions, the best forecasters can say is, “It depends on the track of the storm.” The key is for fire departments to be prepared.
By prepared, in this case, I mean prepared at the station. Does your department carry enough insurance on the building and everything kept in it should a disaster strike? In recent months we’ve covered station fires, but what about a department like the one in Tivoli, Texas, where Hurricane Harvey took out the fire station, collapsing it on top of its apparatus? Is your department prepared to cover the replacement of the structure and possibly the apparatus - along with whatever equipment is damaged?
Is your department prepared for the length of time it will take to replace the building or rigs inside of it? We had damage to our bumper when the tree came down, the bell required replacement, and where the bell was mounted required some body work. This didn’t take place overnight. Calling out the insurance adjuster (who is
Read more
- 123
- Article rating: No rating
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