Grant Provides 'Total Technology Upgrade' for St. Louis FD

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Fire Department will use nearly $800,000 from a federal grant to outfit fire department vehicles with technology that will help firefighters and ambulances crews before they even get to the scene of a fire.

St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said today that the result will be a "total technology upgrade" for a department using 10-year-old technology.

The $789,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security will fund 80 percent of the costs of the project, which will total $986,000.

"It's a tremendous grant," Jenkerson said. "We'll be in the new century with this equipment. It provides for the safety of the firefighters. It provides for a better response for the public. Everybody around here's very excited."

With computers in every fire department vehicle, firefighters will know what they'll face before they arrive at a fire or other scene. The computer can tell them what type of structure they are headed to, what a business does and whether the building has any hazardous materials on site. The system will show firefighters where gas, electric, water and other utilities are located to help them fight fires faster.

Jenkerson said they will have an eye on every truck en route to a fire. Dispatchers will be able to tell exactly where fire engines are located so they can best deploy firefighters to fire.

"At any given time we'll know where every fire truck in the city is at on the GPS system," he said. "When we go on a fire call, every truck responding will be able to see where every other truck is."

He said it will also allow fire inspectors to walk through businesses and document violations on the scene and provide occupancy permits on the scene. He said inspectors will be able to pull up pictures on the scene of things considered hazardous.

He expects the new system to be up and running within six months. He applauded his grant writers and U.S. Rep Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, for assisting with getting the grant.

"This is really a major major upgrade for the city," he said.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service