As we all now know, communications during the 9/11 terrorist attack became a vital, absolutely critical component of our reaction and response to this unprecedented national tragedy. And when the first responders experienced communications challenges that day, and even later on in the days that followed, the idea for a single public safety network was born. Now, nearly 18 years later, we’ve been introduced to FirstNet, built by AT&T.

About AT&T’s “FirstNet” Network

FirstNet is the nation’s first broadband network tailored specifically to meet the needs of local and national public safety officials. Simply put, it will help prioritize public safety messages, enabling first responders summoned in any type of event to save lives and protect property in the communities they serve.

At US Digital Designs, the company is ensuring that it is ready for this extraordinary new system. So, to learn more about FirstNet and its impact on fire station alerting, company representatives sat down and did a “Q & Andy” with product manager Andy MacFarlane, who also happens to be an expert in public safety networking and telecommunications.

Q: Why is FirstNet necessary?

Andy: In the event of a natural disaster—such as an earthquake, hurricane, fire, flooding, etc.—we know that the public network is likely to be overwhelmed. So, dispatch alerts and other critical messages sent through the new FirstNet network will bypass public network traffic and give public safety organizations “first” priority.

And then, at special events such as the Super Bowl, fire, medical and police responders will be given network priority over people using their mobile phones in and around the stadium. FirstNet devices and apps–like USDD’s FSA Mobile App–can serve as either a primary or backup way to communicate station alerting messages to first responders.

Q: What’s AT&T’s role in the development of this new system?

Andy: AT&T won its bid with the U.S. government to implement FirstNet. One of the many things they’re doing is to provide an “Application Ecosystem,” which consists of a mobile device management system. This will help government entities, such as fire agencies, manage their devices and applications. I think this is very good news for some agencies that do not yet have such a system in place. Additionally, AT&T offers a variety of FirstNet-enabled devices and accessories, ranging from purpose-built rugged units to smart devices and tablets.

One of the advantages of the FirstNet system is that it enables public safety customers to get the priority coverage and interoperability they need without sacrificing choice in the devices they require to get the job done. Plus, FirstNet is offering Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) capabilities to support volunteers and other personnel who use their personal devices for public safety work, as long as they meet the applicable requirements.

Q: What does it mean for automated fire station alerting?

Andy: All of US Digital Designs’ Phoenix G2 station alerting customers have a network connection for their station alerting. A growing number of our clients—including Phoenix and Mesa in Arizona and Broward County in Florida—have a data radio system as a means of secondary alerting. Agencies will be able to use wireless networking over the FirstNet system, to achieve reliable and prioritized alerting as either a primary or secondary alerting method. This system will work seamlessly with the Phoenix

Cranbury, NJ—Since 2007, the temperatures of the typical diesel truck emissions, including fire trucks, have risen. The addition of hazard-reducing exhaust treatment systems such as diesel particulate filters (DPF) and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) have increased the heat generated by the engine, and thereby the exhaust, raising concerns about fire, injury, and product damage. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a leading advocate for fire safety, has specified in NFPA 1901 Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, (12.2.6.7.7): “Engine exhaust gas temperature shall not exceed 851°F (455°C) when measured at the exit of the exhaust pipe during normal DPF regeneration.”

The vehicle exhaust industry has been quick to address the demands of higher temperature engines. For example, Plymovent provides a High Temperature (HT) hose assembly for its upper, mid, and lower hoses. The HT hose is rated at 900˚F continuous and 1,050˚F intermittently.

In 2015, the Plymovent hoses were sent to a third-party testing company and withstood temperatures up to 1,221°F during a 40 minute test. Included in the test was the more rigid lower hose component, and because that is the hose that takes on the highest temperatures, this was a significant achievement. 

Fire stations and related public works service facilities can rest assured that Plymovent HT hoses will keep fire fighters and vehicle service personnel safe, and systems remain in good use and functional.

About Plymovent
For more than 40 years we have made it our business to ensure clean air in fire stations. We provide high-quality products to protect firefighters, EMS personnel and others from exposure to hazardous diesel exhaust. From existing stations, to new turnkey facilities, our totally automatic start-up and disconnect source capture systems are the recommended method for controlling exhaust emissions at your station.

For more information please contact us at www.plymovent.com.

By Alan M. Petrillo

The Delhi Township (OH)Fire Department has been providing fire service to the township since 1935, currently operating out of three stations with 60 paid full-time firefighters. The township, surrounded on three sides by the city of Cincinnati, had to replace the station in the eastern section of its district, a structure built in 1956 with 890 square feet of living space and two apparatus bays that now handles 52 percent of the fire department's calls.

Douglas S. Campbell Jr., Delhi Township's chief, says the department "needed to replace that station with something more suited to our staffing levels. We wanted a station to address future growth because the business district is in that fire company's response area, which is about 10 square miles and has about 30,000 residents."

Campbell says he had built stations for the department in 2001 and 2003 and took the opportunity to evaluate both of those facilities and discuss with firefighters what they liked about those stations and, as important, what they didn't like. "The personnel created a laundry list of likes and dislikes that came out to six pages of items," he notes. "Then we met with Mark Shoemaker, director of public facilities at KZF Design, who was engaged as the project's criteria architect, and prioritized those items, which he then had to sell to the design-build team of SMP Design and Turner Construction."

Shoemaker says that in Ohio, for a municipality to do a design-build project, it is required to hire a criteria architect. In that role, he says KZF Design prepared a narrative that described each architectural requirement for the new station, and provided an outline of all room finishes and mechanical equipment requirements. "The RFP (request for proposal) included a site diagram and a list of the specific requirements for each room as well as room data sheets, which establishes the quality level for the project," Shoemaker says. "We also developed a short list of design-builders who could take on the project."

Shoemaker points out that the two biggest challenges facing the team were that the site was restrictive because it sloped in the back, being a very deep but small property. The second challenge was making the station fit into the character of the residential neighborhood, as the location has residences on each side.

Kevin Spector, chief creative officer for SMP Design, notes, "The site had a pretty decent slope on it, and the back of the site had a swale with some woodland that had very wet soil. Turner Construction consulted with Delhi township and figured out how to fix the situation with a limited budget. Turner had successfully tilled lime into soil on a previous project because lime uses water to make a stronger soil. So that's what they did on the Delhi site, meaning they didn't have to drill piers to get down to rock, which would have been much more expensive."

Spector says the new station would be the largest building in the residential neighborhood of older homes with pitched roofs. "We wanted to be sensitive to the neighbors from an architectural point of view, so we designed a station scaled to human scale that looked like it belonged there," he points out. "We used a hip roof to bring down the roof line, and gables to break up the size. It's a block building with brick veneer on the upper parts, and stone on the bottom, giving the eye an interplay or layering of limestone and brick elements."

SMP Design also incorporated elements from Delhi Township's other two stations, Spector says. "We used the material package from the othe

With the addition of this new medic unit, the Fire Department will now be able to transport patients as well as respond to EMS calls and treat patients all without waiting for another agency to respond.

According to a statement the department said that “The Kenton Fire Department is dedicated to providing the best service possible to the residents of the City of Kenton and surrounding townships and is working diligently to ensure that service is upheld.”