Marion Fire Department Getting Digital Makeover That Could Help Save Lives

The Marion Fire Department is getting new digital alerting equipment that is expected to streamline communication and reduce response times.

The City Council unanimously approved a $130,000 payment to Raycom Corp. for the installation of a U.S. digital fire station alerting system and authorization to upgrade the computer aided dispatch so the systems work together during a meeting last week.

The system will work with the a new county-wide communications upgrade. It was inadvertently left out of the original scope of the project that was previously approved, according to the agenda from the meeting. 

"Our old system is not narrow-band compliant and cannot be easily modified to the new system," Fire Chief Terry Jackson said in a memo explaining the need for the equipment.

He said it offers "some of the most advanced station notification technology available today."

Promotional material about the product, Phoenix G2 ATX, touted its ability to simplify the communication channels, reduce response times and ultimately make fire departments more effective. 

Highlights of the system include: 

• Direct interface to Computer Aided Dispatch system transferringinformation to the stations and providing feedback to the dispatchers.
• Computer generated voice provide a clear, consistent message that is repeated and displayed throughout the stations and reduces dispatcher workload.
• Provides backup alerting if the CAD system were not available.
• Is capable of expansion to include cell phone, pager and e-mail alerts.
• Ramp-up lighting and tone systems throughout the station alert the staff without the impact of loud alerts and eliminates the potential night blindness brought on by the use of white lighting.
• Fully expandable to add future fire stations.