TALK Soup

First-responder communications technology continues to improve as manufacturers get a better handle on the unique needs of EMS providers, firefighters and police. Here are some noteworthy products currently available.

Ending High-Rise Radio Silence
     Inadequate radio coverage inside high-rise buildings remains a major issue for emergency providers. In New York City, the Durst Organization has solved the problem inside its 48-story Times Square tower by installing repeaters in strategic locations. Specifically, this major real estate firm has located Tait Electronics' TB9100 P25 base station/repeaters within the building's sub-basement and upper floors. With these repeaters in place and tuned to FDNY tactical radio frequencies, firefighters and EMS crews responding to incidents at 4 Times Square can count on reliable radio communications on all 48 floors (see photo above).

     The TB9100 P25 base station/repeater is a fixed software-controlled radio with digital signal processing and VoIP technology. This latter capability allows FDNY to communicate with Tait repeaters over secure Internet connections, providing secondary comm channels when the radio bands are full. The Durst Organization is planning to install Tait repeaters in its other NYC properties as well.

     According to Tait, the TB9100 can be configured to serve as a repeater or base station in a conventional, simulcast or trunked Project 25 radio network, and is designed with the functionality required for public-safety and public-service organizations.

     Visit www.taitworld.com.

A Head Start On Trouble
     As the recent Virginia Tech shootings made painfully clear, sometimes first responders have to cope with horrific human-caused tragedies. However, there is a way to prepare for such incidents by using Rapid Responder crisis-management software from Prepared Response, Inc.

     Before trouble occurs, Rapid Responder can be used to compile information about vulnerable locations such as schools and hospitals-things like floor maps, interior and exterior photos, emergency plans, evacuation routes, hazmat information and utility shutoff locations. Emergency response plans can also be loaded into Rapid Responder and ready for use via a Web-accessible interface when trouble occurs.

     Rapid Responder proved its worth on September 22, 2003, in Spokane, WA, when a 16-year-old shooter entered a third-floor science room at Lewis and Clark High School. As students watched, the shooter fired his 9mm pistol into a cabinet, ordered everyone out and barricaded himself in the classroom. Thankfully, the Spokane School District had Rapid Responder in place. As a result, emergency personnel and school officials were able to quickly access the school's floor plans and advise police of the shooter's location in seconds.

     "In 12 minutes we responded, contained the shooter and evacuated the school," says Spokane police chief Roger Bragdon. "I was in the command post and couldn't believe it. Every question we had and every contingency we had to plan for was already in the Rapid Responder system."

     As for the shooter? He was the only one injured-hit by return fire when he shot at the SWAT team. His wounds were not fatal, and he was captured and taken to a hospital.

     Visit www.preparedresponse.com.

Data By Radio
     When first-responder networks go down, technicians can usually patch together some kind of voice communications. But data communications are much harder to "MacGyver" together. At least they used to be, until Pittsburgh lawyer/ham radio operator Richard Johnson invented RemComm. Short for Radio Emergency Communications, RemComm allows data to be sent over two-way voice radios.