Results - Topic: Facilities Planning and Design

A Model of Communications Interoperability

In 1934, the first Orange County (CA) public safety radio system was put on the air. KGHX was a one-way system, transmitting messages from headquarters to the field. The obvious problems with one-way communications prompted the "mobile radio" to be established just three years later.

A New Public Safety Complex for Artesia

The City of Artesia, New Mexico will soon open an $18.6 million Public Safety Complex. Located in the 3300 block of west Main Street (U.S. Hwy 82) in Artesia, the facility will provide 73,500 square feet of space in two stories, bringing together the Municipal Court, police station, main fire station, Eddy County Sheriff annex, NM Corrections Department Probation and Parole, and the New Mexico State Police field office. It's believed to be the only building of its kind in all of the...

ADG Selected for Brevard County EOC Needs Assessment and Conceptual Design

Architects Design Group (ADG) was recently selected as the Architect of Record for the Needs Assessment and Conceptual Design of the new Brevard County Emergency Operations Center (EOC)... The new EOC will be a multi-agency coordination center including Emergency Operations, Sheriff's Dispatch and Fire Rescue Dispatch, and will help facilitate agency coordination and decision making during a natural or man-made disaster.

APCO International Selects 2011 Horizon Award Winners

The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International has awarded both Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center (VECC) and City of San Luis Obispo Communications Center with the prestigious Horizon Award for their proactive technologic achievements within the communications center and the public safety industry. APCO's Horizon Award recognizes the technological advancements of communications centers across the nation with the enhancement of voice and data...

Building Your Comm Center: Part One: PSAP Design

Directors and operators of public safety answering points (PSAPs) have to manage budgets, personnel, politics, technology and most importantly, the public your agency serves. Have you been on sidelines watching your colleagues in neighboring counties make major renovations or build a new facility while you struggle with 20-year old equipment in a 20-year old space?

Empowering First Responders with Real-Time, Life Saving Information

In emergencies, time is critical. Ineffective or limited communication of information to first responders can be the difference between safety and disaster, life or death. To ensure a quick and safe response, responders need more visibility in to what is happening at the scene, prior to arrival.

Former Texas 9-1-1 Emergency Network Deputy Director Joins L.R. Kimball Team

L.R. Kimball, one of the nation's leading providers of architecture, engineering and communications technology services, is pleased to announce that Sharon Counterman, former Deputy Director of the Greater Harris County (GHC) 9-1-1 Emergency Network, has joined its team as Delivery Manager, Texas. Ms. Counterman assumed her new responsibilities on March 28, 2011 and will be based out of L.R. Kimball's Southlake, Texas office.

Identifying Value in PSAP Consolidations

One, perhaps indirect way to perceive trends in the public safety industry is to count the frequency of certain types of RFPs that cross consultants' desks. So it is noteworthy to those of us in the consulting business that, although subjects such as NG 9-1-1 might be expected to generate the majority of requests for help, in fact, we find we are receiving even more requests to support either studying the feasibility of PSAP consolidation or for planning and implementing such consolidations.

Matrox & Trenton to Provide Integrated Hardware Systems for EOC Video Walls

Multiple Matrox Expander Units Drive Up to 16 Remote Call Center/EOC Displays

Matrox Graphics Inc. has announced a new software release for the Matrox Extio F2208 dual-monitor and Matrox Extio F2408 quad-monitor KVM extenders. The comprehensive package enables a variety of new multi-display configuration opportunities that includes support for two PCIe interface cards, main units and Extio F2408E Expander boxes to drive up to 16 displays - plus keyboard, mouse, audio and up to eight additional USB 2.0 ports - at a distance of up to 1 km from a single PC.

Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District Formed in Massachusetts

Four north-central Massachusetts communities - Devens, Harvard, Lancaster, and Lunenburg - have agreed to establish, operate, and maintain a consolidated emergency services communications and dispatch system. The system will serve these communities, operating as the Nashoba Valley Regional Dispatch District.

New Alexandria Police Headquarters Opens

The City of Alexandria (VA) recently opened a new four-story police headquarters, designed to consolidate operations from three buildings into an efficient, centralized location. At the November dedication, the facility was called "an iconic building" by Mayor Bill Euille, and a "modern, world-class facility" by Acting City Manager Bruce Johnson. The headquarters was designed by Dewberry in association with architecture, engineering firm HDR.

Police and Fire Sharing Facilities:

If you travel across America you'll find that most cities and towns typically have separate police and fire stations and most of these stations also have their own dispatch centers. Even in some of the smallest towns in New England or the Midwest this still is the case. But with most states in a deep recession, taxpayers are questioning whether having separate facilities makes fiscal sense.

Smaller Electronic Devices Create Growing ESD Problems for 9-1-1 Call Centers and Other Mission-Critical Environments

ESD (electrostatic discharge) has long been known as an 'invisible and silent threat,' but it is now generating a bit of a stir at data centers, emergency call centers, and other mission-critical environments. The reason for this heightened attention is a dramatic new study from NanoMarkets, which shows that smaller electronic components are creating much greater risks for electronic hardware manufacturers and many end users.

Staticworx Launches First Anti-Static Carpet to Meet Safety Standards for Use Around Electricity

Organizations with computer and telecommunication equipment may be exposing workers to risk if they don't have correctly specified, anti-static carpet that meets recent industry safety standards, according to Staticworx, the country's largest manufacturer of electrostatic discharge (ESD) flooring.

Staticworx Launches GroundSafe Initiative: Performs ESD Flooring Audits and Certifies Facilities that Comply with Anti-Static Flooring Standards

In an effort to help facilities protect their employees and electronic equipment through flooring that meets electrical safety standards, Staticworx Inc., North America's largest manufacturer of static-control flooring products and services, has launched a GroundSafe Initiative. Professionals from Staticworx will present Certificates of Compliance to companies that demonstrate they are protecting their worksites on three levels: electrical safety, static control performance, and...

Texas City Goes State-of-the-Art with an Enterprise-Based Access Control System

Security at the new Anzalduas International Bridge Facility to Mexico provides impetus for standardizing access control in McAllen's municipal buildings.

The Communications Center Of The Future

The era of nanotechnology is here, and with this technology, the world will be able to achieve things beyond the dreams of mortals. Nanotechnology will change our environment in the most fundamental way since the development of tools. The excitement lies in the theoretical possibilities that may one day overturn economies. In the next decade and a half, policing will become more difficult. Policing computer and internet crimes is already challenging; adding wireless technology and...

Upgrades to City of Columbus Create Municipal Security Role Model

The city of Columbus, Ohio is quickly becoming a role model of municipality security with its ongoing unification of access control for city buildings into one centralized location and its use of a fiber-optic network that saves money and helps increase public safety.

Vulnerability Assessments for Public and Private Facilities

From a homeland security standpoint, office, storage, and manufacturing buildings are not typically the subject of a man-made disaster, such as a terrorist attack.