Onboard computers guide rural fire trucks

[five_alarm]

WINNIPEG, MB – The fire department in the Rural Municipality of Springfield has come up with an innovative way to help firefighters find their way to emergencies.

Time is key when firefighters are responding to an emergency, and response time can be an issue for fire departments in rural areas, where many members are volunteers and sometimes unfamiliar with the territory.

Springfield fire Chief Mike Purtill's crew has been experimenting with computers on board their trucks to show firefighters exactly where they're headed.


Source: winnipeg.cbc.ca (http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mb_fire-maps-20050217&linkid=1477&parent=news(headlines)&)

[WFD999]

We have something alomg these lines in our units. There are locator becons in the trucks which send over VHF. The dispatch or county fire protection officer or the officers at the hall can go online and find the units on a map overlay. Helps out when a crew hits a dead end or gets truned around. Not near as fancy as the system springfield is putting up. Sounds like the onboard stuff the Phoenix FD has put in to there trucks. Rolling maps, bi directional comms and if the grey matter is holding up they can access pre fire plans through the system also.

[five_alarm]

WOODSTOCK, ON - New mobile computers on Oxford Emergency Medical Services (EMS) ambulances are being called a first step in an integrated system that will eventually make ambulance response to emergencies quicker and more efficient.

"You could see the day come when (paramedics) jump in an ambulance and on the computer is the address, maps and call information," said David Vusich, education and quality practice supervisor of Oxford County EMS, of the new units.

Installed in early October, a new digital mapping program called Locator is being used by paramedics to navigate roads in Oxford County and in the surrounding areas as far away as Tobermory. The program, donated to EMS by the provincial government, allows paramedics to navigate roads by typing in an address, which is then targeted on the screen.

Source: woodstocksentinelreview.com (http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/story.php?id=202423)