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2020 Annual Report • Fire Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />15 | Page <br /> <br />IV. Technology <br />TECHNOLOGY WITH FIRE RESPONSE <br />By Lieutenant Joe Benik <br />Many times as we arrive on scene to a call, the first words out of someone <br />involved is “Thanks for coming so fast!” We take pride in that comment as <br />firefighters because we know that from medical emergencies to structure fires, <br />response time can make a world of difference to the parties involved. How <br />does the Fire Department get somewhere so quickly? One would think that it <br />is all due to the use of the newest technologies and internet connected devices. <br />But that would only be partially correct. The use of the latest and greatest <br />devices and software programs have helped to improve the <br />amount of information available at our fingertips. That is not <br />deniable in any way. Technology has greatly assisted Emergency <br />Responders with dedicated apps that include a vast amount of <br />information available immediately, and the entire internet and <br />databases available for other information that may not be needed <br />right away. Even with all this instant information, and devices that <br />can deliver it to our vehicles, or our pockets, there is still a much older technology we rely on <br />for our quick response times to a scene. We rely more on this technology for its unwavering <br />reliability than for its newest model… its radio waves! For now, there is no substitute for the <br />reliability and speed of radio communication. Police, Fire, and EMS all rely on the 800 <br />Megahertz range of the radio wave band in order to instantly and reliably contact and talk to <br />others with our station, mobile and handheld radios. Very little can stop these radio waves as <br />long as you are above ground. Sure a large concrete and metal building or a basement or <br />parking garage may create some problems or interference, but there are things we can still do to <br />get around those issues if needed. There is one transmission source and many available <br />receivers, this gives a great amount of security that the message will get through. I am certain <br />that the day will come that something will replace this age old radio wave technology, but for <br />now that is exactly what we rely on for our speed, and how we arrive “so fast!” <br />Here is a quick breakdown of the sequence that usually take place. In our case, as a Fire <br />Department, a medical call or a fire call will start out the same: Someone needs help and calls <br />911- a Dispatcher receives that call and inputs information into their computer system- while