Trending
WHEELING -- First responders in Ohio County soon will get "StreetWise" through new technology coming to their fire trucks, ambulances and smartphones -- technology that will do plenty to help eliminate unwanted surprises and provide crucial information earlier when they head out to a call.
The Ohio County Fire Board and the County Commission are purchasing software for the county's fire and emergency departments -- as well as the Bethlehem Fire Department -- from the StreetWise CADlink company of Mooresville, North Carolina.
The county will pay about $13,000 of the cost for setup, with the fire board paying "about twice that," according to Commission President Randy Wharton. The commission will continue to pay annual licensing fees on the software.
The software provides mapping and location tracking services to emergency vehicles heading to a call, which can be viewed from an iPad with cellular service located within the vehicle. The maps contain other information such as where nearby hydrants are located, the diagram of the building and any notes such as where hazardous materials might be located.
The Wheeling Fire Department already uses the software, and its information will be integrated with that of the county's emergency responders, explained Assistant Ohio County Emergency Management Agency Director Tony Campbell.
Campbell was recently hired by the county following a 32-year career with the Wheeling Fire Department.
"This is a dispatching program that allows those being dispatched to have access to a ton of information on where they are going and how to get there," Campbell said. "This is really an important thing."
Fire departments throughout the county respond in different areas, and may not be totally familiar with where they are going, he said. The mapping system built into the software uses Google mapping and Apple mapping to assist them.
"It's pretty efficient as to where it is going," Campbell said. "And if there is an incident -- say a structure fire -- and they are looking for the next available hydrant, it will have the location of the hydrant and show it to you on the map."
If the building has a sprinkler system the fire department can hook into, it will be indicated on the map, according to Campbell.
Information about hydrant location will be imported into the system, and information about major structures in the area also will be uploaded, according to Lou Vargo, director of the Ohio County Emergency Management Agency.
"StreetWise allows our vehicles to become rolling data terminals," he said. "There will be display screens in all our stations, and iPads in all our vehicles."
When Ohio County 911 dispatches a call, it will be displayed on the smartboard and all departments in the county simultaneously will see there is a call, Vargo explained.
Volunteer firefighters also will have the app on their smartphones, and simultaneously see the message, he said. The volunteers will be able to message back as to whether or not they will be able to go to the scene.
If nearby counties such as Belmont or Brooke subscribe to the system in the future, their information also can be entered and shared regionally, according to Vargo and Campbell.
They thanked the county commission and fire board for working together to bring the technology to the county.
"Just for the ability to be able to see who (what department ) is busy and who is not, It's a great investment for the EMA and the fire board," Wharton said. "It will probably save a lot of lives, and make it safer for fire departments."
He said the purchase order has been signed, and the system should be operational in the county within the next 30 days.