Mission-Critical Mobile Solution: Firefighters Benefit From Wireless Solutions

The Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) has 11 fire apparatus and ten fire stations to cover 74 square miles in a mixed urban and rural environment. They respond to 9,600 incidents a year. The SVFD needed a mobile solution with advanced GIS capability and immediate access to critical data. The department applied for and received a $230,000 federal grant to allow them to develop and implement a mobile network.

Firefighters' incident response time to a 911 page is very important to the outcome. The Fire-Apparatus goal is to reach the fireground within 5 minutes. Once on site, firefighters have a critical need for accurate information about potential hazards and risks, structure floor plans, offensive/defensive strategies, and building contacts.

The SVFD mobile solution includes a custom software application developed inhouse, truck-mounted rugged GoBook IIIs notebooks and Pentax thermal printers.