By Scott Foster
Ottawa fire department chiefs say the use of state-of-the-art dispatch equipment could be a matter of life and death for residents and firefighters of the new city.
Department managers will meet with council next month to discuss the installation of a universal Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD) and a re-vamped radio system to ensure all eight call centres in the new city are operating at the same level.
The CAD system will cost taxpayers around $4.5 million and consist of map-based computer-generated graphics that instantly displays the caller’s location on a screen with virtual roadways, buildings, water mains and hydrants.
Once the new system is installed, it will begin to assess each emergency immediately after the call is received from a 911 dispatch unit.
“The computer will instantly give the dispatcher guidance on what the most appropriate resources are,” says Steve Kanellakos, general manager of emergency and protective services. The system also gives the location of the station closest to a fire.
“A CAD system has initial station response, as well as a secondary response (if the first one is not available). So the system identifies the next best operation,” explains Gord Mills, deputy chief for rural operations.
The new system will likely be modeled after the CriSys CAD systems used by the former municipalities of Nepean and Gloucester. This type of CAD system has been praised by fire chiefs for its ability to effectively handle increased and concentrated call volumes. The last time an attempt was made to integrate dispatch centres was in 1998 after a Dispatch Study Committee found having eight separate call centre systems was inefficient. Despite the committee’s report, the former city of Ottawa decided to upgrade its old CAD system.
While a central CAD system will answer the fire department’s calls, its success in handling emergencies will depend on the quality of radio equipment used to communicate with firefighters at the scene.
Council will also address the department’s need for exclusive, extra-strength radio frequencies as recommended by the city’s transition board. A board study found the radio standards of the existing system didn’t match fire department standards.
Firefighters need a stronger signal than other emergency service staff if they are in concrete buildings, underground parking lots or other areas that regular signals may not penetrate, says Kanellakos.
“This could mean someone’s life inside a building,” adds Sinnott. “If they can’t get out and can’t be heard, we’ve got a problem.”
Sinnott also says the department’s radio frequencies need to be exclusive in order to avoid log jams of different service staff, such as police and ambulance, lining up at the same microphone.
The transition board’s study recommended that the fire department’s radio systems be re-vamped in order to standardize the existing equipment. An engineering study is now underway to determine the most cost-effective way to make changes. Depending on the study’s findings, a re-engineered system could cost around $1 million, says Kanellakos.
In the weeks ahead, council will work with department managers on the emergency and protective services committee to come up with a dollar amount that will buy “quick, inexpensive fixers” to maintain the current radio system, says Sinnott.
Short-term maintenance to the existing system will be the best option until the installation of a universal CAD system is completed in the next three to four years, says Kanellakos. Once it is in place, plans for a universal call centre that handles both ambulance and fire services can be realized, he says.
Requests for proposals from potential service providers of both radio equipment and the new CAD system are set to begin in the months ahead. Installation of the CAD system will begin sometime next year, says Kanellakos.