Washington State Upgrades Its Security With New Mobile Command Vehicles

Counties and Cities Fight Terrorism and Natural Disasters With Cutting-Edge Mobile Communications

SEATTLE, Nov. 17 -- In order to better protect its citizens, several counties and cities in Washington State recently purchased multiple Mobile Command Units from Emergency Management Equipment (EME). The vehicles will provide day-to-day communications support for the public safety departments of Franklin County, Benton County, Kitsap County and the City of Medina.

Purchased with Homeland Security funding, the vehicles are designed to meet a variety of needs. Incorporating state-of-the-art command and control technology, the vehicles enable officers to quickly and easily gather and disseminate information using multiple modes of data and voice transmission via landline, cellular and satellite. The vehicles also incorporate advanced mapping capabilities to help officers deal with diverse geographies and large amounts of rural space.

"We chose to work with EME because we got a lot more for our money when compared to their competitors," said Jeffrey Chen, chief of police for the City of Medina. "EME has provided us with a command and control vehicle that is capable of coordinating all our communications during a security crisis, thus enabling us to better protect our citizens."

With miles of shoreline, nuclear power plants, chemical depots, and a number of important military facilities to protect, there was a need for incident-response units that could be used by multiple agencies and departments. For such instances the vehicles' awnings and storage boxes hold foldable tables, chairs, and a tabletop telephone that can be easily accessed to quickly create an outdoor workspace. In addition, there are weatherproof boxes for antenna feeds, RJ-45 Ethernet and RJ-11 telephone jacks, and audio/video and CATV inlets and outlets.

"Communications interoperability is key to increasing public safety -- it's vital that first responders are able to communicate with other first responders," said Jane Gritz, chief executive officer for EME. "These latest command and control vehicles allow Washington State's counties and cities to join forces during major incidents."

The Mobile Command Units contain communications equipment that permit on-scene dispatch command and control, portable radio and landline phone connectivity, computer e-mail and network access, and live video down-links to display broadcast television, as well as feeds from the 40-foot, mast-mounted, color infrared camera system and the latest Voice Over IP (VoIP) technology.

About Emergency Management Equipment

Emergency Management Equipment (EME) is a GSA provider that designs and manufacturers specialty vehicles and communications consoles for homeland security, public safety, utility, and transportation organizations. Major customers include Motorola, Bombardier, Department of Homeland Security, and numerous local, state, and federal government agencies. For more information call (800) 486-1345 or visit www.emeusa.com.

  Editorial contact
  Alex Koritz
  Sprout Marketing
  alex@sproutmarketing.com
  (801) 641-3808

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