FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --
Local firefighters can now track emergency calls while 911 dispatchers track their every move.
Officials with the Fayetteville Fire Department just installed what's known as a mobile computer terminal -- a laptop with an instant messaging system and GPS device all in one.
Firefighters said it has already helped them on calls.
"They add so many streets in Fayetteville all the time, it's hard to learn them like we used to," said Capt. Jerry Kelly.
The map feature on their mobile computers is high-tech and highly accurate, he said.
"Definitely a step up from opening up a book and seeing where you're going," Kelly said.
With a few clicks, firefighters can type messages to each other to read details about calls as they're headed to emergencies.
"You can do all of it without getting on the radio," he said.
It's a feature that coordinators of emergency calls said they needed.
"That helps free up the radio in case an emergency situation comes up with a fire unit," said 911 dispatcher Misty Selph.
Officials said Fayetteville police cars have similar computers on board.
Firefighters are now technologically up to speed, so they can speed up the time it takes to get to emergencies. Fayetteville's is the only fire department in northwest Arkansas with on-board computers.
Rogers fire officials said they are a few years away from having a similar system.
The new equipment cost the fire department $290,000, but a federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency paid for most of it.
