In this Issue:

1) Comm Fire/EMS Goes Live with GPS/Mobile Data

2) Data Updating - Putting the User in Control

Comm Fire’s new Emergency Response System puts the Right Information in the Right Hands, at the Right Time

For the Full Project Overview Document please CLICK HERE  (Adobe PDF Format)

Dispatcher Tracking Responding Units Using HorizonEME
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Phase II of COMM Fire District’s fully integrated Emergency Response system has been completed. The district – located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts - can now boast one of the most advanced response capabilities in the country, with fully integrated dispatch from Symposium Technologies, record management from FIREHOUSE Software^®, and GPS-based vehicle location from CompassCom.

As a result, everyone in the district with a stake in public safety has something to smile about. Citizens who need the quickest and most effective response, firefighters and EMT's who need access to the most up-to-date information, and politicians responsible for holding the line on costs can all be satisfied with a new tool that delivers improved capabilities at a reasonable cost.

Now when an emergency is phoned in to the district's state-of-the-art command center, the new system instantly pinpoints the caller's location using sophisticated digital mapping, while simultaneously alerting the dispatcher to important information about the incident location stored in the system's database.

As the dispatcher talks to the caller and enters the details of the situation, the system instantly evaluates a host of complex factors that determine what trucks and personnel to send. It then makes a recommendation for the dispatcher to review and if necessary modify.

In the trucks, the responding personnel have complete in-vehicle access to the same information as the dispatchers by means of mobile computers, which are linked via wireless network with the main system at the dispatch center, and with GPS receivers on the trucks themselves.

                  Mobile Computer Mounted in Response Unit Running CompassTrac

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Because the system tracks and time-stamps every aspect of who does what and when during an emergency call, the department can in turn produce a detailed record of each response, as well as longer term reports that will improve the quality of information available to the public, and help the district deliver better service.


By all accounts, staff at COMM are quite happy with the new system, and how smoothly the implementation has progressed. According to Fire Fighter Paul Rhude, “The goal of the project was to help responding personnel by providing additional information, and to enable increased coordination. The companies involved have done an excellent job in delivering this capability, on time and on budget.”

Robert Day, President of Symposium Technologies, thinks that COMM’s example is one that can be valuable for other small and mid-sized departments: ”There are all sorts of useful new technologies out there right now, but in most cases they are out of reach budget-wise, and don’t function well together.

By being able to tie them together and make them affordable, we can make a real contribution to making our communities safer."

For the Full System Overview PDF Document please CLICK HERE

For more information, or for those interested in seeing the system in action, please contact Symposium by emailing us at info@symposium911.com.

Data Updating - Putting the User in Control

One of the biggest frustrations for clients in terms of maintaining CAD is the whole data update process. Maintaining up-to-date GIS and premise information is key to the system’s overall effectiveness, but because this data can change frequently, it is important that any new or modified information be added to the system as it become available.

With a lot of systems however, this is simply not the case. Clients have to wait for the vendor’s scheduled update and, in some cases, have to pay a fee over and above their service contract. The result is higher stress, degraded response capability and safety, increased liability, and an unacceptable dependence on the vendor.

Next Issue

Symposium Technologies will be showcasing its Vehicle Tracking and Schedule Adherence Technologies at the upcoming CUTA conference in St. John's, NLFD. In the next issue will be bringing you all the details. So stay tuned.