White River Township Fire Protection District

 

Pre-Meeting Report for April 5, 2004

 

Compiled March 31, 2004

 

 

 

  1. We are still meeting weekly and preparing the Strategic Plan.  The plan is about 80% complete and should be ready for distribution at the May meeting.  The entire senior staff and Steve Dyson have been working diligently on this important project.

 

  1. Chief Tibbetts accompanied members of our department to the factory for the final inspection on Engine 51.  There were a few minor errors (striping, etc.) but once those have been addressed, it should be delivered the first week of April.   As we already have the equipment for this truck, we anticipate it going in service no later than April 15th.

 

  1. Out of sixty-seven applications handed out, thirty-nine were returned for the career process.  The next phase is the CPAT (physical ability test) and will take place the week of April 5th – 9th.  The next phase after that is the written exam phase that will take place on May 8th.  Everything is progressing nicely on schedule and on budget.

 

  1. The internal process for all current full-time employees for a lateral move to the M-F Fire Prevention position was conducted last month.  There was one request and that was from Lieutenant Kevin Skipper.  Based on this information, the senior staff requests that Kevin be transferred into this role effective December 4th (when the new hires are released to work on duty).  If this is approved, we would then hire four Lieutenants instead of three.  This effectively eliminates doing an entire separate process just for the Fire Prevention Lieutenant position.

 

  1. The receptionist process is well underway.  190 applications were picked up between March 22 and March 26.  As of the close of the process on April 2nd at 4pm, 85 applications were returned.  Interviews will begin the week of April 5th – 9th.  A final recommendation will be made to the District board at the May meeting.

 

  1. The 2003 Fire Loan Projects are proceeding on schedule.  The following is an update on current and upcoming projects. 

 

    1. The HURST tools and related equipment have been mounted in the trucks.  Training has been completed on all three shifts and the tool is now in service (and used twice already with stellar performance).

 

    1. Because of a discrepancy with IKON Office Solutions, we have opted not to purchase the copy machine outright.   The total buy out cost was significantly more than continuing with the monthly lease payments.  This was not the case when the buyout was calculated last summer in preparation for the fire loan.  Since then however that buyout has expired and the salesman who worked up the deal has passed away.  IKON refused to work with us on it.

 

    1. Pursuant to approval received at the last District meeting, the new computer system was purchased from Dell and we have already taken delivery of it.  Several of us are working on this very time-consuming project daily and anticipate the new computers coming on line over the next week or so.  The server is installed but having some issues with our virus-scanning software.  We are working with McAfee on a resolution.

 

    1. No new news on the Olive Branch property since all the details were worked out at a meeting earlier last month.

 

    1. Both the Station 52 and Station 53 construction projects are underway with some of the minor repairs already being made.  Lieutenant Smith has been working with various contractors and overseeing the cadre of projects.  Not sure what the status is with Dudley Senefeld and the plans for the room addition at Station 52.

 

    1. As we have mentioned before, our wireless networking system, which is the system that links the three stations together, continues to experience problems.  The 2003 fire loan permitted for an upgrade of our current system, however, since the fire loan package was put together, some of the equipment is now obsolete and unavailable.  After a further and much more in-depth review, we have put together a much better alternative.  We have attached a separate explanation that explains the situation.  While we understand that it is rather lengthy, it does thoroughly explain the problems we are experiencing and the solutions to those problems. 

 

  1. After legal counsel made a decision regarding disposal of our old computer system, we have advertised it for sale in the local newspaper.  Sealed bids are due in to Chief Cassin by 7pm on April 5, 2004.  The bids will be opened at the District Board meeting and awarded then.

 

  1. No new news on the corporation consolidation project other than an initial response from the attorney’s office saying that it COULD be done!  There are some logistics that would have to be worked out though.  Chief Tibbetts will hopefully have a report at the meeting.

 

  1. I just now realized that the meeting is on a Monday, which is a class night for me, so I will not be able to attend.  Since March just ended, I will try to do a reconciliation of the accounts on Monday and have something to present at the meeting.  I apologize for not getting this information to you earlier as you requested at the last meeting, but the computer project and the two hiring processes are taking every once of time I have right now.

 

  1. The minutes from the March 2nd District meeting are available for viewing on our website, or by following this link: http://www.wrtfd.org/downloads/minutes/fpdb/2004/0302.htm

 

  1. The agenda for the April 5th District meeting is available for viewing on our website, or by following this link:  http://www.wrtfd.org/downloads/agendas/fpdb/2004/0405.htm

 

  1. This agenda will be updated as needed.  Copies will be available the night of the meeting.  The Mach newsletter is available for viewing on our website, or by following this link:  http://www.wrtfd.org/downloads/newsletters/2004/Mar04news.doc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To:  White River Township Fire District Board of Directors

 

Re:  Wireless Communication Dilemma

 

The Problem:

The White River Twp. Fire Department has been experiencing an increasingly persistent problem with our ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with our wireless network. The department decided several years ago to update our technology by going to a wireless networking system that allows us to connect our three (3) stations together on our computer network. This has allowed for increased productivity for most of our data transmission and storage, while significantly decreasing operational costs by not having to install and pay monthly service fees for telephone lines between the stations.

 

As with any technology, over time, it both degrades physically and becomes obsolete as improvements in technology come about. This is our current dilemma. It is broken down as follows:

  1. When our current equipment was purchased and installed, it ran at a speed of 11 mbs/second. This is the speed that data transmission takes place. As time has progressed, this speed has slowed to less than half, or 5.5 mbs/sec., of what it is supposed to be.
  2. When our current system was installed, we were limited by the available technology in the distances that the wireless signal could be transmitted between tower sites. What was happening was that instead of having separate but equal strength signals being transmitted from the main radio at station 53 to both station 51 and station 52, the signals that go to station 52 are first sent to station 51’s receiver and then retransmitted to station 52. The same thing then happens in reverse with signals from station 52 to station 53. Unfortunately, we have learned that when this retransmission of a signal happens, the signal strength is cut in half. The reason is because there are only three (3) radios being used instead of four (4). Station 53 needs to have four (4) radios so this “halving” of the signal strength doesn’t happen. This now brings our signal transmission speed down to just over 2 mbs/second. The result of this speed problem is that when a user simply wants to log onto the system, the wait to just get into the system for use can take as much as 10 minutes or more when there are other user already on the system. This is very frustrating to say the least.
  3. The radio equipment that we are currently using in our wireless system is obsolete. Another problem that we have discovered is that the power supply units for each of the existing radios have degraded in their ability to give full power to the radios. This is common and expected over years of continual use. However, the power supply units are no longer available for these radios. We have tried to find replacement power supplies for these, both on our own and through our wireless network contractor without any success. They simply are not available anymore. The end result of this is that as the radios fail to get the full power that they require, they fail to send out the radio signals at full strength. This cuts our already severely compromised radio signals even further, to just around 1 mb/second.
  4. Interference. Our current system is not the only one in use in the area. The Center Grove School Corporation also has a wireless network running between all of its facilities. We all use radio frequencies that are very close together. As the use of this wireless technology increases with other businesses and home networks, this can cause interference, or what is commonly referred to as “a trashy signal”, which even further degrades the radio signal.
  5. To compound these frustrations even further, imagine that it is 3 o’clock in the morning and you’ve just returned from an emergency medical response. It took you 30 minutes from dispatch to backing in the fire station to complete the run. You now sit down at the computer terminal at station 52 (our busiest station for runs) to enter your run report. What should take no more than 15 to 20 minutes can literally take an hour and a half to enter because of the dramatically s-l-o-w speed of the current system. If this occurs 4 or 5 times (the average) a day, you can understand why our personnel are very frustrated.

 

The Solution:

We have met with a new wireless communications vendor, Wireless Networking Solutions, Inc. They are highly recommended and have installed and maintained several wireless systems, large and small, throughout Indiana. They are pro’s at what they do. They have assisted us in troubleshooting our current speed problems to come up with solutions. The following is a synopsis of these:

  1. We have to do something about our power supply problem with our current radios. It will be sooner rather than later that one will completely fail. If that failure occurs at station 53, we will be totally incapable of communicating with either of the other stations. The short version of this is that we need to replace the current radios that we are using. Additionally, we need to install a 4th radio into the network This will allow full strength signals to be simultaneously transmitted between station 53 to and from station 51 and station 53 to and from station 52 without halving our signal strength. Also included in this process would involve moving the radios at station 53 from outside on the antenna to inside the station through an already-in-place conduit. We will also need to place an additional directional antenna on the tower at station 53 to directly beam signal to and from station 52, instead of having to go through station 51 and it be rebroadcast. Along with some surge suppression equipment, cable, and labor, this solution has a proposed cost of $14,995.00.

 

  1. The above solution proposal has some limitations. This will take care of the immediate signal strength problems and bring us back up to the initial starting point of 11mbs/second speed. What it does not take into account is the future growth and expansion of our system or the interference problems that occur with other network users in the area. We are very hopeful that we be able to install next year a fully interactive audiovisual telecommunications package from our FEMA/ODP Fire Act Grant. If we are successful in this endeavor, we will be able to use our current wireless system to send and receive live, real-time video signals between the stations, but that will require more bandwidth. This will potentially put a strain on the system in terms of speed. Additionally, as the department continues in its projected growth, we can foresee an additional station and perhaps a separate headquarters and/or training center. As these future growth sites become operational, they will have to be placed into the network, as well.

 

We feel that now is a good time to be proactive and meet our needs for not just today, but the rapidly approaching future and upgrade our system with a state of the art network system that can accommodate this future expansion. This will include four (4) new, more powerful radios on a totally different radio spectrum that eliminates the possibility of out-of-the-system interference. It will also increase our wireless network system speed to 54 mbs/second. This will allow almost instantaneous signal transmission between the computers in the system, allowing our personnel to be more productive and efficient in the use of their time. With each of the new radios, we will also get new antennas installed on our existing towers at each station. With this, will also come surge protection, as well as moving the radios from the outside tower at station 53 to the inside of the building. The proposed cost of this system upgrade is $27,135.00.

 

At first glance, this may seem a bit exorbitant. But under closer examination, you can see that the price difference between the two (2) proposals is just $12,140.00. This is less than half again the cost of the proposal that would only bring us back to where we started.  The good news is that after close examination of the current budget, we have approximately $20,000 available as other projects and expenditures have come in under budget. With the appropriation of the other approximately $7,000.00 by the Board, we can upgrade our system now instead of in the future when costs are sure to escalate. We feel that this is a wise use of our current funds and would like for the board to approve the system upgrade for $27,135.00

 

Thank you.