Whether it’s at the scene of a car accident, a mountain rescue, a wildfire, or crowd surveillance during a sporting event or festival, public protection in the field must prioritize wireless communications to help ensure people’s safety. It’s the best way to keep pace and stay mobile as situations unfold.

But real-time communication is more than just keeping teams in touch with each other. It helps identify hotspots and avoid escalation in congested areas; it can track fast-changing and dynamic environments to maintain situational awareness; it encourages cooperation between federal, state and local stakeholders; it enables real-time GPS tracking of resources.

Above all, it allows agencies to deliver on their commitment to public safety.

Central Pierce Fire & Rescue, Orting Valley Fire & Rescue, and Graham Fire & Rescue are enhancing their communication systems to better serve over 300,000 residents across 180 square miles in Washington. These services manage up to 150 incidents daily in diverse environments, including urban, suburban, rural, and mountainous areas. 

Their first responders are dealing with the most traumatic, intense moments that a community will experience, so there is a cognitive demand to have relevant, timely information. This creates the moral imperative to implement transformative connectivity solutions.

The Challenge When It Comes to Information 

First responders need timely and accurate information to handle high-stakes situations effectively. Following ongoing analysis of its incident communication data, and consistent challenges with AVL (Automatic Vehicle Locating) systems, Washington’s three fire and rescue services were able to secure policy-level support to pioneer a technology program that redefined its critical services provision. 

The Solution: A Communications System Overhaul 

Central Pierce Fire & Rescue, Orting Valley Fire & Rescue, and Graham Fire & Rescue are implementing Dejero Smart Blending Technology to overhaul their communication systems. This includes deploying Dejero GateWay 211F network aggregation devices in every medic and fire apparatus, as well as in Battalion Chief vehicles equipped with Kymeta satellite antennas. This technology ensures that first responders have access to uninterrupted connectivity, enabling them to relay real-time information back to the command post without delays or interference.

Rather than being forced to rely solely on connectivity from unpredictable local environments, these public safety agencies are rethinking their communications systems and creating their own robust, dependable and low-latency connections at the source, wherever they are.

In other words, they are creating their own reliable network by putting every response vehicle at the center of their communications strategy – be it fire truck, ambulance, police car or Battalion Chief SUV. It renders every vehicle a communications hub, making data ubiquitous across the entire service area by integrating multiple cell providers, LEO satellite, LTE extenders and integrated Wi-Fi into the vehicles to ensure reliable uninterrupted connectivity.

The deployment of a Dejero network aggregation device within the vehicles deliver access to all these connectivity paths, while real-time wireless connectivity is enabled through its Smart Blending Technology, enabling responders to use each vehicle as a secure mobile internet source to tap into the network. Smart Blending Technology monitors every path for performance degradation and reroutes packets across other paths in real-time.

It allows events to be monitored with real-time situation data to be relayed back to the vehicle from the command center with no delays or interference and it provides Automatic Vehicle Locating data to ensure that the entire fleet stays connected.

Key Components

• Dejero GateWay: The GateWay 211F network aggregation device onboard each fleet vehicle blends triple-carrier connectivity from various first responder priority networks, allowing first responders inside the vehicles to use wireless internet as a secured path into the network.

• Kymeta Satellite Antennas: Battalion Chief vehicles will be equipped with these antennas to maintain communication even in areas with limited cellular coverage. This ensures that first responders can operate effectively in all environments, including remote and mountainous areas.

• Integrated Connectivity: In partnership with IP Access International (IPA) field services, Dejero is providing the three services’ combined fleet with reliable uninterrupted connectivity by integrating satellite (OneWeb), LTE extenders and integrated Wi-Fi into the vehicles.

Benefits

• Real-Time Monitoring: The enhanced connectivity allows first responders to relay real-time information back to the command post, enhancing situational awareness and enabling faster and better decision-making.

• RoIP Integration: The system's blueprint also incorporates RoIP (Radio over IP) and provides a springboard for innovation and change strategies, reshaping the three organizations’ approach to refurbishing apparatus and repurposing its existing infrastructure. 

• Data-Driven Decisions: Collaboration with Darkhorse Analytics allows for real-time data delivery, supporting critical decision-making and resource allocation. The Dejero GateWay device helps to deliver this data in real-time, supporting critical decisions and exposing potential problems.

Impact on Public Safety

The move from narrowband to broadband connectivity can be empowering, but it is also challenging. Geography, budget, infrastructure and current network status all play a part in the decision-making process, while future flexibility is top of mind for fleet managers and county sheriff departments looking to demonstrate fiscal responsibility.

Processing more data across multiple applications can impact bandwidth in mobile vehicles, especially in rural areas where connectivity can be limited. Meanwhile, dynamic environments like sports stadiums can suffer from congested cell networks, and providing access to edge technologies like safety sensors and IoT devices all require additional bandwidth.

Enhanced connectivity supports live data connections for dash cams and body cams, improving situational awareness and efficiency. This technology ensures a safer environment for the community and first responders. 

Washington’s fire and rescue services combined Dejero connectivity and Darkhorse Analytics to substantially reduce the allocated additional infrastructure budget by understanding how to better utilize the existing combined infrastructure and deploy together more effectively. The solution keeps the three organizations informed on where they need to focus their energy and resources.

Future-Proofing Emergency Services

With Dejero Smart Blending Technology, Washington's fire and rescue services are prepared for emerging technologies, ensuring they remain at the forefront of public safety innovation.

“Spending this money and installing this equipment is the most responsible thing we could do," said Fire Chief Dustin Morrow. "It allows us to continue to be trusted stewards of the public resource and to provide the best emergency services we can in the region,”

“Dejero is helping us disrupt technology in our industry with no limits, and is allowing us to get better at our primary mission; serving the community, each and every day. We’re excited about what the future holds.”

This transformative approach to communication is a significant step forward in public safety, ensuring that Washington’s fire and rescue services can continue to protect and serve their communities effectively. The robust connectivity provided by Dejero ensures that first responders have the tools they need to operate efficiently and safely, ultimately creating a safer environment for everyone.

By transforming emergency vehicles into a mobile communications platform, public safety agencies can rethink infrastructure and how they invest for future technology needs and objectives. All that is possible with high-bandwidth, reliable connectivity using Dejero as the optimal backhaul.

About the Author: Michael Stanton is the director of sales, Americas, for Dejero.