Digital map
to be developed |
The 911 Administrative Board worked on plans to create a
digital map of White County and to set up a secondary emergency radio system at
their April 15 meeting.
The board invited a consultant from MTM Solutions of Oklahoma to Searcy to help
provide a digitized map of the county, said Randall Story, the White County
Office of Emergency Services Coordinator. Such a map is required before police
and other emergency response services can pinpoint the location of cell phone
calls.
Currently, emergency responders in White County can locate
from which tower a cellular phone signal is coming, but can't locate the actual
position of the caller on the ground.
A digital map of the county will allow emergency responders to have a variety of
crucial information at their fingertips including the location of fire hydrants
and pipelines, Story said.
With money provided by federal grants from the Department of
Homeland Security, White County ordered about 75 radios for AWIN, the Arkansas
Wireless Information Network, to be distributed to law enforcement, fire
departments, and hospitals throughout the county, Story said.
The emergency radio system, which costs approximately $300,000, will not replace
existing channels of communication, but will provide a system in the event that
all others fail during a disaster, Story said.
The AWIN system is already up and running and will eventually
include all counties, said Story. Being a part of AWIN is a requirement to
receive additional Homeland Security funding.
Story added that White Countians can help the Office of Emergency Services route
calls properly by calling in recent address changes to 268-4810.
