The Frisco Fire Department (FFD) in Texas is using state-of-the-art Streambox video technology to better manage emergency operations and effectively deploy resources. With Streambox ACT-L3 video transport systems deployed onboard its emergency response vehicles, the fire department is able to transmit live video from a fire or other incident back to the City of Frisco’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The video provides the EOC with a comprehensive view of unfolding emergencies.
Serving a rapidly growing city of 102,000 north of Dallas, the FFD previously relied solely upon radio transmissions from firefighters at the scene to understand the specifics of an incident. Then a couple of years ago, employees from a local TV station suggested FFD look into streaming video as a tool to gaining better intelligence about developing emergencies. FFD quickly realized Streambox would be an invaluable tool for providing a bird’s eye view of emergencies, and for helping multiple city departments coordinate resources when a quick response is necessary. “Now, our EOC staff can proactively deliver the required response based on what they see, rather than having to wait for someone to describe the scene to them,” said FFD fire chief, Mack Borchardt. “Judging from our success with streaming video I believe the technology holds great potential for other fire departments across the country.
Currently, the FFD has equipped its special operations and hazardous materials (haz-mat) vehicles with mast-mounted cameras and Streambox SBT3-7100 systems, which encode the video for transmission over low data rate Verizon 3G wireless connections. Streambox decoders play out the video, including thermal and infrared imaging, to command at the scene and back to the central fire station’s EOC.
The Streambox solution is particularly valuable for incidents which require a coordinated response from multiple city departments. In a recent example, a natural gas line ruptured near a main thoroughfare creating a hazard for traffic and the surrounding area. With a view of the scene from the hazardous materials vehicle, the EOC was able to see the full extent of the hazard and quickly coordinate a response with police and traffic control personnel. Subsequently, rush-hour traffic was safely and efficiently rerouted. Being able to view live video from accidents, fires, and other emergencies provides an additional perspective which significantly impacts the ability to deploy the necessary resources and coordinate potential evacuation plans.
With the initial success of the Streambox technology on the Special Operations and haz-mat trucks, the FFD plans to deploy more encoders/decoders on a new command vehicle that will arrive at the department in August. The new truck will provide an on-site command center and will be capable of streaming video simultaneously to the EOC and to either the haz-mat or special operations trucks.
“It was crucial for us to deploy a reliable and easy-to-use streaming solution so our firefighters can turn their full attention to the emergency at hand,” said Paul Siebert, assistant chief of the FFD. “With Streambox we are able to get set up and start transmitting video in a matter of minutes – and every minute counts in an emergency.”
“The Frisco Fire Department’s use of Streambox video technology is a great example of the value our solutions bring to emergency operations,” said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO of Streambox. “It clearly demonstrates the reliability and performance of our products and solutions over low cost, low data rate IP network connections.
Serving a rapidly growing city of 102,000 north of Dallas, the FFD previously relied solely upon radio transmissions from firefighters at the scene to understand the specifics of an incident. Then a couple of years ago, employees from a local TV station suggested FFD look into streaming video as a tool to gaining better intelligence about developing emergencies. FFD quickly realized Streambox would be an invaluable tool for providing a bird’s eye view of emergencies, and for helping multiple city departments coordinate resources when a quick response is necessary. “Now, our EOC staff can proactively deliver the required response based on what they see, rather than having to wait for someone to describe the scene to them,” said FFD fire chief, Mack Borchardt. “Judging from our success with streaming video I believe the technology holds great potential for other fire departments across the country.
Currently, the FFD has equipped its special operations and hazardous materials (haz-mat) vehicles with mast-mounted cameras and Streambox SBT3-7100 systems, which encode the video for transmission over low data rate Verizon 3G wireless connections. Streambox decoders play out the video, including thermal and infrared imaging, to command at the scene and back to the central fire station’s EOC.
The Streambox solution is particularly valuable for incidents which require a coordinated response from multiple city departments. In a recent example, a natural gas line ruptured near a main thoroughfare creating a hazard for traffic and the surrounding area. With a view of the scene from the hazardous materials vehicle, the EOC was able to see the full extent of the hazard and quickly coordinate a response with police and traffic control personnel. Subsequently, rush-hour traffic was safely and efficiently rerouted. Being able to view live video from accidents, fires, and other emergencies provides an additional perspective which significantly impacts the ability to deploy the necessary resources and coordinate potential evacuation plans.
With the initial success of the Streambox technology on the Special Operations and haz-mat trucks, the FFD plans to deploy more encoders/decoders on a new command vehicle that will arrive at the department in August. The new truck will provide an on-site command center and will be capable of streaming video simultaneously to the EOC and to either the haz-mat or special operations trucks.
“It was crucial for us to deploy a reliable and easy-to-use streaming solution so our firefighters can turn their full attention to the emergency at hand,” said Paul Siebert, assistant chief of the FFD. “With Streambox we are able to get set up and start transmitting video in a matter of minutes – and every minute counts in an emergency.”
“The Frisco Fire Department’s use of Streambox video technology is a great example of the value our solutions bring to emergency operations,” said Bob Hildeman, chairman and CEO of Streambox. “It clearly demonstrates the reliability and performance of our products and solutions over low cost, low data rate IP network connections.
