Public Safety Training Campus Update

April, 2014

Want more practical training?  Well you're in luck!  The tactical village is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2015;  it will include various streets and building fronts, a burn building, a drill tower, confined space and trench rescue props, a vehicle rescue area, a drafting pit, a liquid fuels fire simulator and other props.  Construction began in March, 2014. Construction pictures can be seen on our website;  www.chesco.org/des 

An indoor state-of-the-art law enforcement firing range is currently in the design and planning stages.  Construction is scheduled to begin in 2016.

Want more training?  Check out upcoming courses at destraining.chesco.org 

Advanced Technology Updates

April, 2014

Voice Radio Project

Manufacturing of the Harris infrastructure components has been completed and was finalized with a successful acceptance test being executed at the Harris Customer Integration  Center. During this acceptance testing the entire system was staged as it will be deployed in Chester County.  Over 75 tests were performed on the system and its features.  The long and arduous process for site acquisition continues, with measurable steady progress being made.  The project team continues to work diligently on leases with tower owners and land owners for the space required to host the County's new radio equipment.

As this site acquisition progresses the sites are then turned over one at a time for Harris to begin the construction phases of the project.  To date, antennas and lines have been installed at the Octorara tower site, and construction is well underway for the new tower at Chester County's Public Safety Training Campus where a new alternate 9-1-1 center will be located.  In the coming weeks several more sites are slated to move from the acquisition phase to the construction phase.

Harris recently hosted several radio demonstrations for the Chester County responders at the Chester County Public Safety Training Campus.  These product sessions were held in an effort to begin familiarizing responders with the new equipment they will be using.  These sessions provided everyone with an opportunity to see the new products that will soon become an essential part of each responder's communication equipment.  These sessions were very well received by all and generated some good questions and discussions amongst the groups.

Computer Aided Dispatch System

The data and response stream input continues.  Police information has been completed.  The CAD group continues to work with Fire and EMS organizations to utilize generic responses to streamline the transition.  Responder input (Police, Fire and EMS) for mobile data configuration continues.

The new CAD system will give Telecommunicators in the 9-1-1 Center better tools to expeditiously and efficiently process 9-1-1 calls and dispatch emergency responders.  It will also provide better means of requesting and communicating with other resources.  The Emergency Responders will be receiving new Mobile Data Computer software, Intergraph's Mobile for Public Safety (MPS).  MPS will include the capability to receive real time event information, GIS mapping, vehicle location with GPS routing to emergencies, and advanced situational awareness.

The new Integraph CAD System is expected to go live in 2015.

More information on both projects can be viewed on our website - www.chesco.org/des

Directors Report for March 2014

Telephone Calls - 21,703 -- 700 per day
Fire Incidents - 869
EMS Incidents - 3.230
Police Incidents - 27,816

The Emergency Operations Center was open for 19 hours over the night of 2/3 March for a potential ice storm that went south of us.

Voice Radio Project:
-Of the 18 tower sites where we will be co-locating, we have completed the legal and financial process at 9 sites have released the sites to Harris for their work to begin.
-Construction has commenced for the new tower at the PSTC.
-Demonstrations for the emergency response organizations of the new portable radios and mobile radios were well received.

CAD System:
-Data and response stream input continues.  Police information is completed.
-Working with Fire and EMS organizations to utilize generic responses to streamline transition.
-Responder input (Police, Fire and EMS) for mobile data configuration continues.

PSTC:
-Construction started at the Tactical Village on 24 March
-We continue to work on the request for proposal for the architect for the Law Enforcement Firing Range.
-Last month we hosted 1,564 people at 65 events.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force:
-The 2014 Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) allocation for the region will be about $18 million  Of this, about $1 million will be available for projects for Chester County.