Catoosa Fire Department trucks to be equipped with computers terminals
Catoosa County is putting the final touches on its computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, which allows all of the county’s emergency agencies to work in unison.
IT Director Scott Czerneski, during the county Board of Commissioners’ June 2 meeting, got the go-ahead for the Fire Department to purchase 23 computer terminals to be installed in trucks.
“The Sheriff’s Department already has them in their cars,” Czerneski said, “so they don’t need them. However the Fire Department currently has no such device inside their vehicles. So in working with the chief and assistant chiefs, they’ve selected some ruggedized computer terminals — mobile data terminals — to be mounted in the trucks.”
The cost, $68,793, will be paid for with the Fire Department’s allocated 2014 SPLOST funds. “So the funds are already there,” he said.
Three companies bid on the project, with Mobile Rugged Computers winning the bid. Bids from the other two companies were in the $89,000 range, Czerneski said.
“It (the computer terminal) allows them to receive up-to-the-minute updates from 911 while they are going to a call,” he said.
“They can actually see it as the dispatcher is typing it in,” Czerneski said. “It also will map how to get to the calls, so it’ll assist in speeding up their response.”
Commission chairman Steven Henry pointed out that the April 12 storm — which brought extreme flooding, downed power lines and trees, and even a tornado to Catoosa — taxed the radio communications system. “We had system overload and couldn’t use the radios,” he said. “So that (the in-vehicle terminals) would be another avenue to communicate.”
Czerneski agreed. “It will allow them to communicate with each other, as well as dispatch, and get those updates when the radio is busy or for various different reasons when they are unable to talk right then,” he said.
“This is the last major purchase that we are aware of associated with the CAD program,” he said.
Sheriff Gary Sisk, during a September 2019 commission meeting, discussed the CAD program with commissioners.
“For expenditure of this project, we’re looking not to exceed $1.2 million,” Sisk said at the time. “It will serve all of the emergency services. We’re looking at it being mapping and automatic vehicle location, including law enforcement and fire. The records management will be on the same platform, so we’ll be able to share data among all the emergency services.
“This is for the licensing and purchasing of the software for all the mobile units,” he said. The purchase would cover the software for all emergency agencies in the county, he said.
“We feel we can pay for everything. The first year license and maintenance will be taken care of in the contract. The second year licensing and maintenance can be provided for with the SPLOST dollars within that $1.2 million. Everything can be paid for and no emergency service agency will be out a penny for the software. All of them will be provided for at least until 2023. We’ve all agreed to enter into intergovernmental agreements after that moving forward.”