GOLDEN, CO—Locution Systems, Inc., provider of the PrimeAlert® Fire Station Alerting System for fire and EMS departments, has introduced new mapping applications for in-station mapping, smartphones, and tablets.

PrimeAlert® Responder is a mapping application for fire stations that runs on monitors positioned in central areas of the fire station. When dispatches arrive at the fire station, PrimeAlert® Responder displays at-a-glance dispatch information with a map on the right side of the screen showing the location of the emergency, and with dispatch information and street view on the left side. This allows responders to get a fast-track view of where they’re going while they’re heading toward the apparatus bay.

PrimeAlert® Responder On-The-Go is an interactive mobile app for smartphones and tablets that provides dispatching and mapping information in an intuitive, natural manner, showing smooth transitions from prior dispatch to new dispatch as the dispatch comes in. Single-touch options include transition between map and satellite imagery, one-touch zoom-in/out, street view image, and location directions. The swiping capability allows emergency personnel to intuitively review all dispatches of the day or after their shift. Individual dispatches can be selected and selectively filtered at a later date. The displays of PrimeAlert® Responder and PrimeAlert® Responder On-The-Go stay in sync as they transition from dispatch to dispatch.

These fire station alerting mapping apps are only available as part of the PrimeAlert® fire station alerting system. PrimeAlert® Responder is normally tied to the PrimeAlert® fire station PC. PrimeAlert® Responder On-The-Go runs on Android and iPhones, as well as tablets and iPads. Software levels required to run PrimeAlert® dispatch mapping are: iOS 9 and above, and Android 4.4 and higher.

“Initial fire station alerting technology has primarily been focused on faster response times and better firefighter environments,” says Glenn Neal, Locution Systems president and founder. “These new mapping and display applications, both mobile and in-station, help meet the demand we’re seeing for additional data; data that better informs personnel from station to incident.”

PrimeAlert® Responder Highlights

• Runs on industry-standard TV monitors in fire stations
• Tied to PrimeAlert® fire station alerting system
• Displays dispatch information and location of the emergency via satellite or mapping format

PrimeAlert® Responder On-The-Go Highlights

• Runs on smartphones (iPhone & Android), as well as tablets (iPads & Android-based tablets)
• Highly interactive
• Ties into all standard driving direction apps (Google Maps, Apple Maps, others)
• Displays full dispatch information (incident, address, landmark, incident number, and notes typed into the CAD by the dispatcher)
• Provides ability to save specific dispatches (allows for review of dispatches after the emergency)

Mobile station alerting apps are helpful for a variety of scenarios and responders, including:

• New recruits, or newly transferred responders, at paid fire-EMS departments (New recruits and newly transferred responders may not yet know the area or the landmarks. The smartphone app shows where the incident is located as well as providing single-key access to the smartphone/tablet’s driving direction app which generates detailed directions to the incident.)
• Volunteers (Strong solution to dispatch all volunteers and wait for them

The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) is the home of the Fire Training and Certification Programs for the State of Oregon. Today, DPSST unveiled its newest fire service training tool, a 2016 Freightliner truck with a skid frame. This new resource became possible through an Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This new tool will be added to DPSST's Skid Avoidance for Fire Apparatus Drivers (SAFAD) Program that addresses the second leading cause of line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) in the nation's fire service: driving emergency vehicles. 

Most fire apparatus drivers learn to drive expensive emergency vehicles on the streets of the communities they serve. Approximately 80 percent of the state of Oregon is served by dedicated volunteers who drive their personal vehicles to the fire station and then respond to an emergency incident with a multiton emergency vehicle with lights and sirens active, in some cases without any formalized training. 

To accomplish its goals, which mirror many of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/16-initiatives/), the DPSST SAFAD Program uses both classroom and hands-on training. The classroom training incorporates information from the various national programs listed above and begins to lay the foundation for belief, misconception, and consequence. The class includes a review of state motor vehicle codes and regulations, analysis of accidents involving fire apparatus, and basic driving instruction. Case studies are used throughout the classroom portion so that fire apparatus drivers understand they are accountable for their actions and that they play an important part in changing the culture of the fire service, both when responding to and returning from incidents in fire apparatus as well as personal vehicles. 

The hands-on portion is accomplished using a specially designed training platform. The platform is called a "skid truck" and mounts under the Freightliner truck that simulates a fire engine. The skid truck, equipped with lights and siren, has hydraulic cylinders attached to each corner that allow the vehicle to be lifted while in operation simulating a skid but in a controlled setting. Oregon's geography, weather and population are diverse—from the high desert of Eastern Oregon, the mountains of Central Oregon, the urban and suburban communities in the Willamette Valley, to the Pacific Coast Highway (101) that follows the Oregon Coast. The SAFAD program is ideal in preparing Oregon firefighters for the driving and weather challenges they will encounter when responding to incidents across the state. 

Since DPSST implemented SAFAD in 2009, more than 6,000 firefighters have received the training program. Oregon has seen a marked decrease in the number of vehicle crashes involving fire apparatus responding to and returning from emergency incidents. Before the program was implemented, 10 crashes occurred each year on average involving fire apparatus. After DPSST's SAFAD program was implemented, that number has been drastically reduced. More important, since the program has been implemented, there have been no line-of-duty deaths in fire apparatus in the state. While this change can be att

Justin Beebe loved nature, especially the woods. He was also a hard worker who always put others before himself, his lifelong friend Colin James said. So it seemed only natural that Beebe combined these elements and joined the Lolo Hotshots crew to fight wildland fires. “This was the job of his dreams,” James said.
- PUB DATE: 8/15/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal