Emergency Alerts

Hardware Components

The FAST platform hardware components are installed in the Fire, EMS or Police Station and at a minimum consist of a FAST computer server and one large LCD monitor. Larger stations will likely be interested in installing more than one LCD monitor and FAST is built to support as many as you need. In addition, FAST supports connecting one or more large LED signs to be installed throughout the station. The FAST server will be connected to the station's network and will need access to the public Internet. If you choose to implement our Relay Control Feature, we will install one or more Relays on your local network and we will configure FAST to associate each Relay output to a specific piece of equipment apparatus in your station. The FAST server is not intended to be used interactively and therefore will not have a mouse, keyboard or local monitor connected.

CAD System Integration

Emergency alerts are typically sent by a dispatcher located in a 911 Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Most 911 EOCs today use Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software to enter, track and dispatch alerts. CAD systems that are in use in EOCs range from in-house proprietary systems to very expensive systems offered by the big industry players. One of our objectives in developing the FAST platform was to provide very easy integration options with the many CAD systems out there. Basically, the FAST platform needs to be able to get emergency alert information from the CAD system. Our preferred method for receiving alert information is direct TCP/IP communications though we also support receiving alerts by means of emulating a printer, direct database queries or other messaging delivery such as email. The bottom line is that if you have emergency alert data we can find a way to get it to the FAST platform.

Alerting Details

Once the emergency alert information is received by FAST it is sent by all available means to appropriate personnel in or out of the station. Whatever is currently being displayed on the LCD monitors in the station will be overwritten with a large bright textual message spelling out the critical alert elements, typically Incident Type, Location, and any nearby cross-streets. All elements of the alert are customizable in terms of which elements are required, in what order, colors, fonts, size, time to display, etc. If you provide us with area maps that your station is responsible for and area data is made available as part of the alert information sent to FAST, then we will also display the specific area map along side the incident details. Alternatively, you can take advantage of our Dynamic mapping feature which will dynamically generate a map and center and zoom in on the incident location and place a marker. In addition, the dynamic map will also display markers for all surrounding road closures, traffic, hydrants and other water supplies. At the same time that the alert information is displayed on the LCD monitor an audible MP3 track is played and heard from the LCD speakers. It typically takes less than 1 second from the time that FAST receives the alert until it is displayed and heard on the monitors. At the same time that the alert information is sent to the LCD monitors it is also sent to the LED signs if they are part of your solution. If your installation includes any Relays, then FAST will also inspect the equipment apparatus due on the incident call and automatically close all associated Relays which in turn can be used to activate different controls within your station's alerting system. And lastly, FAST is capable of sending alert information via email, text messaging and pagers to all desired personnel. After the pre-determined time period to display alerts has expired, the LCD monitors and LED signs will return to whatever they were displaying prior to the alert.

FASTweb Emergency Incident Alert Reporting

A web-based tool will be provided allowing station personnel to login and review all the details of prior emergency incident alerts sent to the FAST system including call times and response times if that data is made available to FAST.

Copyright © 2009-2017 The Spark Group, Inc. All rights reserved.