Command Center on Wheels Subs for Annapolis 911 Call CenterNovember 21, 2006Annapolis, Maryland—When the Annapolis, MD, police department took delivery of their new mobile Incident Command Center last summer, they expected to use it during major fire and police emergencies, or in case of regional disasters. Last weekend they found another use. The big communications van was rolled out to the site of the city’s 911 Call Center, Friday, November 11, and it was pressed into service for 3 days while the regular Call Center was closed for major renovations. From early Saturday morning through Monday morning, the Police Department’s 911 personnel inside the Incident Command Center answered more than 200 calls, including several life-threatening emergencies. There were no dropped calls and no significant glitches. “We knew we would need a backup location to handle 911 emergency calls while our regular Call Center was down,” said Tim Seipp, Lieutenant with the Annapolis Police department. “We originally planned to use the county’s Emergency Operations Center located in Millersville, Maryland, and send our personnel over there. But we realized our own mobile Incident Command unit offered us a better answer—that’s what it was designed for.” The 34-foot Annapolis vehicle has 7 operator consoles and is equipped to handle all types of communications at emergency sites—including regular telephones, cell calls, emergency radio connections, and satellite feeds. It’s intended to let Annapolis police and emergency personnel talk instantly with dozens of police, fire, emergency, and public safety agencies in the seven nearby counties. The vehicle features special technology to interconnect all those communications and more —ARINC Wireless Interoperability Network Solutions (AWINS™) developed by ARINC Incorporated. “AWINS technology makes any mobile communications vehicle extremely adaptable.” said Marvin Ingram, ARINC Senior Director, Public and Enterprise Solutions. “Although AWINS technology has proven invaluable in disasters like Hurricane Katrina, you don’t need a disaster to get your money’s worth. The technology has real value in solving lots of non-crisis related communications problems very quickly and affordably.” “We’re learning a lot about the versatility of our Incident Command Center—it will now be top-of-mind every time we have degraded communications,” added Seipp. ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore, with over 3,200 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 certified. Release: 06-176 Corporate Communications |
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