Wash. FDs Use Software for Less Talk, More Action

A software program being adopted by first responders countywide will allow for less talk and more action in the field.

The Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon fire deaprtments are now using technology in their rigs equipped with GPS navigation, incident information and a messaging system that not only makes first responders' jobs easier but provides more accurate data collection and improved safety.

The technology will soon go live for Central Valley Ambulance Authority ambulances. Fire departments and law enforcement agencies throughout the county hope to get on board with the system by the end of the year.

The program is Spillman Mobile, which is accessible through mobile data terminals (MDTs) installed in aid vehicles and, in the near future, patrol cars. Eventually, first responders and law enforcement officials say they hope the whole county will be able to look at the same incident information on a computer screen instead of tying up dispatchers on the radio.

"For us, it's been functioning flawlessly," Sedro-Woolley Fire Chief Dean Klinger said.

Sedro-Woolley was the first fire department to be up and running on Spillman Mobile and has been operating with it for at least a month. Mount Vernon has been using it for nearly two weeks.

"We can all see what's happening, it's really a great tool," Klinger said.

Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon were awarded a federal grant to obtain the technology and equipment last year. Central Valley earned a grant this year.

Burlington and Anacortes fire departments and Fire District 8 plan to acquire the program soon. The Skagit County Sheriff's Office also obtained a grant for the system and will contract with city and tribal police departments to come on board, as well.

The Sheriff's Office aims to have the program running for them within the month, Sheriff Will Reichardt said.

One of the main benefits the technology offers is a fluidity of response among agencies. Calls show up on the MDTs and responders can assign themselves to a call based on their proximity to the incident instead of relying on dispatchers to delegate responses.

The GPS feature also guides first responders to the call. Mount Vernon Fire Chief Roy Hari said his staff previously had to look through a physical book of county street maps.

Responders can see who else is going to the call and where other vehicles are located, which can improve safety when several rigs are all speeding to an incident at once.

"Our biggest thing is safety," Hari said.

Dispatchers and responders countywide can see each other's calls and better coordinate when agencies previously only had access to their own information and relied heavily on dispatcher reports on the radio.

An example of the technology's success was the response to Sunday's Trinity Lutheran Church fire in Mount Vernon, Klinger said.

Sedro-Woolley firefighters were dispatched about 20 to 30 minutes after the first call to the Mount Vernon crew. When Sedro-Woolley was asked to assist, the technology allowed the firefighters to pull up all the information on the fire, find its location and where Mount Vernon's engines were stationed.

"Going into it, we knew what they knew already," Klinger said.

With the push of a button, the program also allows responders to selfreport when they're en route to an incident and when they arrive. Previously they had to radio in their status to dispatchers who recorded status updates as they managed multiple tasks at once.

That feature will allow for more accurate recording of response times because it eliminates middle-man reporting, Hari said. That also helps dispatchers when they are managing several different calls.

"In these hugely busy times, that makes a big difference for us," said Deb Welsh, interim director of Skagit 911.

Kirk Hale, interim director at Central Valley, said he began working with Spillman Mobile 12 years ago at his previous post with the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in Oregon.

"At first the firefighters didn't like them, it was new and it was different," Hale said. "You couldn't take it away from them now."

When law enforcement officers start using it, officers will locate their colleagues more easily, read police reports from Island and San Juan counties and check drivers' license plates and registration more quickly.

"Any time law enforcement can share information on criminals or criminal activity it's a good thing, because that's how you solve crime," Reichardt said.

Copyright 2012 - Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service