The Omaha Fire Department Fire Station just announced that 52 and 23 are among the first in the city to install a new dispatch alerting system, manufactured by US Digital Designs.
“The system will bring the latest technology for our first responders,” according to Malorie Maddox, anchor for WOWTV Channel 6.
Aging Alerting System Calls for Replacement
“Our fire alerting system was aging and was eventually going to need replaced,” said Assistant Fire Chief Tim McCaw.
In 2016 the voters passed a bond allowing the city to upgrade its alerting system to a new age.
Fire Station 52 has been dealing with issues to their alert system for months now. Assistant Fire Chief Tim McCaw has come up with a temporary solution until the new one can be in place.
“We gave them designated radios that are specific to this fire station,” he said.
The new system will receive digital information from dispatch, displaying it on screens throughout the building along with an automated tone.
“It’s an upgrade that has taken hold across the country, McCaw said. “This is the latest and the greatest.”
In days past, each station would hear every call in their room and would determine if it was their jurisdiction. This system would be more specific, giving the first responders more sleep.
.“Now you have technology that is specific to your bedroom so for example if you are in a bedroom designed for Engine 52, only those designated for Engine 52 are going to hear that tone,” he said.
Raycom Representative Doug Busch says that’s not the system’s only feature that makes it more peaceful.
“The other thing it does it turns lights on and speakers in the firefighters sleeping rooms. Those lights come on gradually so that tone will be sounded which gradually ramps up,” said Busch. “It’s got a pretty simple job to do and it does it very well.”
All the Omaha fire stations will soon have the system in place. The work takes a week to 10 days to complete per fire station. All the station should be online in the next 6 months.
