Submitted By
Fire Chief Tom Ebsen
Reviewed By
LKS
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Resolution Authorizing the Submission of an Application with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for an Assistance to Firefighters Grant for a Regional Digital Dispatch Fire Station Alerting System in the Amount of $220,503.30
End
Overview
Overview
The purpose of this grant is to fund a comprehensive upgrade of the fire department’s alerting system for all three stations. We have included River Forest, Forest Park, Elmwood Park, and WSCDC and are applying as a single region with Oak Park being the “host” agency. The grant would allow us to replace outdated alerting equipment that does not meet current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes. It would correct several current difficiencies including lack of redundancy, lack of equipment failure notification, dependency on manual call processing, and failure to provide a modulated, shock-free alerting tone
Body
Staff Recommendation
Approve the Motion.
Fiscal Impact
If the grant is approved Oak Park’s cost would be a 15% of the total cost of $33,075. VOP’s 15% portion would be $33,075. The Oak Park Foreign Fire Fund has agreed to pick up the entire $33,075 which would leave the direct Village contribution to be $0.
Background
The current alerting system for the fire department is fifteen years old. Applying as a regional grant with five agencies ensures that, if awarded, the time spent providing assistance to each other will be improved dramatically. The current system has the following specific deficiencies:
§ No redundancies in equipment or alerting paths- this creates a situation where the fire department will not receive a call for emergency service due to a single radio tower problem or a failure of the obsolete station tone boxes. This has occurred in the past, is not easy to fix quickly, and has a sustained negative effect on the operations of the fire department.
§ No notification of equipment failure- when a component breaks there is no way to have the system automatically notify administrators that a problem exists. The situation is only found when a unit does not go en-route to a call for service. At this point there is already at least a 2-3 minute delay in response with an obvious negative effect on the services provided to the community.
§ Requires a dispatcher to manually process the call and set off tones- this takes a Westcom dispatcher away from answering 911 calls and/or staying on the phone to gather more information and provide assistance to our citizens.
§ Alerts for calls are loud, shocking, and unable to be modified- medical studies have proven the detrimental systemic effects of loud alerts including hypertension, cardiac problems, and anxiety.
Alternatives
Replacing the alerting system without a grant is a major capital expense that no single agency is willing to expend at this time.
Previous Board Action
N/A
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
N/A
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
If the grant is received, the Village will bring back the contract documents for approval.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
This grant, if awarded, will benefit five governmental agencies.
Performance Management (MAP) Alignment
N/A