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Harford County (Map, News) - Harford County is installing computer systems in police and fire vehicles and ambulances to enhance communication between different departments, said Ernie Crist, the county’s emergency operations chief.
“I think it’s going to be awesome,” said Thomas Schaech, Harford County Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Association president.
“We feel it’s going to be a very useful tool for helping all departments.”
The weapons of mass destruction drill earlier this month tested for the first time a radio system that allowed departments to easily speak to each other, according to Jeff Welsh, spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Association.
Crist said the computer system will allow departments to send e-mail to each other so that the radio system can be free for more pressing communication.
“As we get busier and busier in Harford County, the voice system will allow us to absorb an increase in calls,” said Crist, adding that emergency calls have increased about five percent annually the past several years.
Suspect, scene and patient information will show up on computer screens so responders don’t have to hear it on the radio and possibly forget it, he said.
The system will immediately be used in police cars, allowing officers to run license plates from their cars for the first time, improving their safety, said Armand Dupre, deputy chief of the Bel Air police.
By 2010, the system will allow emergency responders to transmit images of a scene or suspects to each other from out in the field, Crist said.
He said 50 percent of Maryland counties have some form of the system.
Officials said all Harford County public safety departments will use the system by February.
