Emergency service radio system increases communication power of police, fire, ambulance
For immediate release—June 4, 2002
Vancouver - E-Comm, Emergency Communications for southwest British Columbia, today announced the successful completion of Phase One of the region's new shared emergency radio system. The Wide-Area radio network links emergency service providers such as police, fire and ambulance.
The concept of consolidated emergency communications in the Lower Mainland followed the 1994 Stanley Cup riot in which police, fire and ambulance personnel were unable to communicate directly with each other because each was working on a separate radio system.
Today, emergency response agencies throughout the GVRD are using the E-Comm Wide-Area Radio system, which allows for cross-communication between agencies (police, fire, ambulance) within the communities they jointly serve and with agencies in neighbouring jurisdictions. There are more than 4,000 radios in use right now, resulting in more than 5-million police/fire/ambulance transmissions per month.
On a day-to-day basis the shared system makes it easier for different police agencies to work together in handling cross-border crime, including major crime investigations, police pursuits and other events that cross municipal boundaries. For firefighters and paramedics, this system allows instant access to information pertinent to medical and rescue calls. In the event of a major disaster, such as an earthquake or building collapse, the radio system will prove invaluable in coordinating joint response.
Benefits of the new system include: Wider radio coverage area; Better in-building coverage; Multi-agency communication; Cross-jurisdictional communication; Greater clarity; Improved reliability; Enhanced security; Earthquake proof infrastructure.
Agencies on the radio network include:
British Columbia Ambulance Service (throughout GVRD)
Burnaby RCMP
Coquitlam RCMP
Langley RCMP
New Westminster Police Service
North Vancouver RCMP
Port Moody Police
Port Moody Fire-Rescue Services
Richmond RCMP
Richmond Fire-Rescue Services
Ridge-Meadows RCMP
Surrey RCMP
White Rock RCMP
Vancouver Police Department
Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services
Phases Two and Three of the Wide-Area Radio Network include expansion to the Sunshine Coast, Whistler, Pemberton and Hope to Boston Bar.
For more information, contact:
Jody Robertson, E-Comm Corporate Communications
604- 215-4956 (direct line) 604- 640-1342 (pager)
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E-Comm provides emergency communications for more than two million residents of southwest British Columbia through a 9-1-1 call centre, Wide-Area Radio Network for police, fire and ambulance personnel, and dispatch operations for Vancouver Police, the Deas Island Highway Patrol, the Port Mann Highway Patrol, and RCMP detachments at UBC, Bowen Island, Whistler, Pemberton (including the Tribal Police), Gibsons, and Sechelt.