Mayday software tool tracks firefighter’s location in emergencies
After a 90-day field test and more than one year in research and development, the New York City Fire Department has installed the Electronic Fireground Accountability System (EFAS), a citywide, data-based accountability mayday system that more effectively pinpoints the location of firefighters and reduces radio ID confusion. The system identifies the seven-digit number unique to a firefighter’s radio, translates it into a firefighter’s name and transmits the data to laptop computers mounted in fire commanders’ vehicles, said Deputy Asst. Chief Stephen Raynis.
EFAS was piloted using a Pelican case, or ruggedized suitcase, to hold all of its components, which included a laptop, a battery, a modem and an EVDO card to access the Internet. Now, the data is housed on mobile-data transmitters, or the laptop computers, in the fire apparatus that also displays alarm information.
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