[Scan-DC] Harford County (MD) New Commo System

[Steve Uhrig]

'Communications System to Unite Public Safety Agencies'

Harford's Police, Fire, EMS Services Will Be Linked

Harford County Executive James Harkins signed an agreement on Aug 5th 
with Motorola Inc. to purchase a new communications system which ties 
together all of the county's police agencies, fire and ambulance 
crews. The new $23 Million system, expected to be fully operational 
by 2005, includes upgrades in voice communications, installation of 
computers in vehicles, an automatic vehicle locator subsystem and 
connectivity to various siren systems for sounding general alarms to 
the citizens of Harford County.

Harford County has been doing the engineering work on the emergency 
communications system with its own consulting engineer and the state 
for more than a year, but the events of September 11, 2001, put a 
greater emphasis on the need for a system that will work unfailingly. 
Current county operations are limited to seven channels for voice 
communications making it inadequate to handle the 200,000 calls for 
help received annually at the Harford County 911 Center. Harford 
County's new Motorola Astro Smartnet digital system will enable all 
emergency providers to easily communicate with one another.

"Every day, we're asking emergency providers to put their lives on 
the line", said Harford County Executive James Harkins. "The very 
least we can do is ensure our police officers and our fire and 
ambulance crews have the communications tools necessary for them to 
protect our citizens and to protect themselves", he said.

The microwave system used to ensure that communications from any 
field provider anywhere in Harford is heard by all other field 
providers in the county will be replaced in partnership with the 
State of Maryland. This partnership will defray costs and give 
Harford County and Maryland a way to ensure future communications.

"Capital funding in the amount of $23 Million was allocated for this 
project. This is a large undertaking but one that is essential to 
public safety services in Harford County", Harkins said. "Without a 
reliable fire paging system and adequate voice communications 
channels, public safety may be compromised. We are sharing costs with 
the state so that both groups use tax dollars wisely and have the 
ability to share system resources in the future," he added.

The new communications system will connect all parts of Harford 
County with the statewide microwave system now under construction. An 
upgrade will be made to the current voice communications system 
including modern radios with new features such as an emergency button 
for summoning help.

A data communications subsystem for use by emergency medical 
technicians, fire commanders and law enforcement personnel will be 
added. Computers will be installed in vehicles so that information on 
citizen calls for help can be sent directly to the vehicle. Field 
providers will be able to access databases that provide additional 
information on the call for help. A law enforcement officer using the 
computer in his patrol car will be able to access the National Crime 
Information Center to check on a person's wants and warrants.

An automatic vehicle locator subsystem will allow dispatchers to view 
a computer map with the location of law enforcement vehicles and 
ambulances. This will help dispatchers send the closest unit to the 
call and locate field providers who are summoning help via the 
emergency button on their radio.

The wireless paging system for volunteer fire and emergency medical 
services personnel will be replaced. Connections to the various siren 
systems for sounding general alarms to the citizens will be 
implemented and improvements made to the dispatch center equipment 
and system management capabilities.

Between now and early next year, the county will replace the 
microwave system and upgrade the fire dispatch and paging system. New 
equipment will be installed during 2003 and 2004 at tower sites and 
at the Harford County Communications Center. Later, in 2004, new 
radios will be installed in fire vehicles and ambulances. New 
portable radios will be issued to all fire, emergency medical 
services and law enforcement personnel. Training will be conducted. 
The new equipment will undergo testing in 2004 and 2005.

<From Harford Business Ledger, November 2002 issue>


*******************************************************************
Steve Uhrig, SWS Security, Maryland (USA)
Mfrs of electronic surveillance equip
mailto:Steve@swssec.com  website http://www.swssec.com
tel +1+410-879-4035, fax +1+410-836-1190
"In God we trust, all others we monitor"
*******************************************************************