Ocean City system updates

[maus92]

The Ocean City IT team and its contractors are updating server hardware that hosts Central Square which is the CAD / RMS / JMS system that supports the police and fire departments. There are also fire and EMS specific software that is also being migrated to new servers later this week. It might add some radio traffic to the fire tgs as some communications tasks have to be done manually. This is part of the larger system refresh that the city is coordinating with Worcester County's mid-life upgrades; the major one being the radio system software update that has to be accomplished by both entities to retain roaming between the two systems. The Central Square migration starts tomorrow morning and should be completed by the end of the day. The fire side has an application from a different vendor that will be down for several days until it can be moved to new hardware and integrated with Central Square.

 

[maus92]

The upgrades to Central Square / OneSolution applications have been completed, although individual MCTs may need to be updated / restarted manually - there's always a vehicle that has not been operated/logged on for a while.

 

[DisasterGuy]

Tentative date for the major system upgrade (core replacement) is second week of Feb.

On the Worcester side console upgrades have already been completed and following the core upgrade, all Worcester sites will be getting all new routers, switches, and alarm computers replaced.

 

[jaymatt1978]

Just curious if they are still going to use 158.895 for dispatch after the upgrades?

 

[DisasterGuy]

Just curious if they are still going to use 158.895 for dispatch after the upgrades?

I’m not aware of any plan to discontinue and conventional resources by either the town or county.

 

[maus92]

The LPR system in OC has also been migrated to new servers. The system was initially funded by a DHS anti-terrorism grant, but is maintained by the city. LPR aka License Plate Reader scans vehicles entering Ocean City and automatically runs the vehicle record for warrants, expiration, suspension, etc. Officers in the field get alerts on anomalies from their in-car MCTs so they can take the appropriate action. Criminals / scofflaws go on vacation too, and unlike the western shore, registration violations / fake license plates are enforced.

 

[One13Truck]

I took the squawk boxes with me last week while staying in Box Area 2. Everything sounded pretty good on the OC and Worcester sides although after all these years I’m still never sure hour to hour and site to site which SDS filter works best for these.

Slight off topic but anyone have any updated OC fire and EMS station apparatus listings? The VFC page doesn’t look like it’s been updated since that hot second the flipped to mirroring the County system and dropped it after about 7 hours and still has Station 3 at 7401 Coastal Hwy. The Wiki is even worse. Still the pre 7 dash era.

 

[maus92]

Station 1 (HQ): ENG1, PM1, and PM1-1 depending on staffing. The truck(s) and squad are available if needed, as well as special units.
Station 2 (Dorchester St): PM7 and PM2.
Station 3 (65th St): PM3 and PM3-1, plus special units.
Station 4 (Montego Bay): ENG4, PM4 and PM4-1 depending on staffing.
- The above are career stations for the most part. The engines have paramedics aboard.
Station 5 (West OC): ENG5, PM5. Not normally staffed during the day. Staffed at night with volunteers.

During the day, EMS runs to West OC (BX5 and BX6) are usually handled by PM7 or PM2; engine calls are handled by ENG1.

As far as the exact apparatus, I cannot help with that.

 

[One13Truck]

Thank you! Better than nothing! The info I had was very outdated. Any ideas what stations the Towers run out of now? 1, 3, 4, and 5? Or did Tower 3 permanently move to 4?

 

[maus92]

The towers / trucks are not staffed. I know there is one at Station 1, and I *think* the other is at Station 4, maybe Station 3. The way it works is if a tower or truck is due, the engine crew takes it instead of the engine. Alternatively, if the truck from Station 1 is due, the mechanics can drive it to a scene - same thing with the squad. I'm not sure what is in Station 5 other than an engine and a PM unit. It's an unusual arrangement as most of my knowledge and experience is with large county FDs that have at least a minimum crew assigned to each piece. I'll try to find out more details in the next few days.

 

[maus92]

OK, so OC has 3 truck companies, all towers / platforms, stationed at HQ(1), Montego Bay(4) and West OC(5). Station 5 has a PM unit that also runs as an ambulance if volunteer PMs are not in the station; they also have an engine, an engine/tanker, a tanker, a squad, and the aforementioned tower.

 

[One13Truck]

So they built that new station 3 and basically run EMS out of it? Ouch. Should’ve just kept the old station. I know. It was outdated and falling apart but cheaper to just slap some paint and duct tape on it.

 

[maus92]

There are plans to move equipment around when the new truck is upfitted, and perhaps a truck will find its way there.

 

[One13Truck]

That would be good. Much better than constantly pulling from 1 or 4 when you have that nice new building in mid town.

 

[maus92]

The other thing to remember is the vast majority of calls for service are medical in nature, thus is why Ocean City's in-town engines are staffed with paramedics.

 

[One13Truck]

True. Makes sense to run the Medics from 3 due to the huge call volume. But they could’ve built something around the size of Station 2 or slightly larger and saved some money. 3 is a nice building but overbuilt for current use. At least it’s adaptable for the future if the fire fleet is expanded again.

 

[PtBreak]

Station 1 (HQ): ENG1, PM1, and PM1-1 depending on staffing. The truck(s) and squad are available if needed, as well as special units.
Station 2 (Dorchester St): PM7 and PM2.
Station 3 (65th St): PM3 and PM3-1, plus special units.
Station 4 (Montego Bay): ENG4, PM4 and PM4-1 depending on staffing.
- The above are career stations for the most part. The engines have paramedics aboard.
Station 5 (West OC): ENG5, PM5. Not normally staffed during the day. Staffed at night with volunteers.

During the day, EMS runs to West OC (BX5 and BX6) are usually handled by PM7 or PM2; engine calls are handled by ENG1.

As far as the exact apparatus, I cannot help with that.

Station 2 is due 24/7 to BX 5&6. Maybe a couple times a year an EMT takes the medic from 5 as an assist.

During special event weekends like WMO & the Callings music fests you’ll have a career staffed medic crew till around midnight out of 5 due to traffic.

Other than that it’s mostly POV to the fire house with some live in’s at 5.

99% of the time the HQ engine is first due on a majority of the serious runs out west.