The Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA) is hoping local municipalities will chip in to upgrade their aging communications technology.
BRFA Regional Deputy Fire Chief Jay Melvin made a request to the MD of Bonnyville Council last week for funding to purchase a new first responders radio system.
Melvin, who presented a slideshow presentation for council, proposed the idea of a new system called the Alberta First Responders Radio Communications System (AFRRCS). It's the latest technology being used by emergency personnel in the province, and is owned and maintained by the Province of Alberta.
This system would be used for all emergency services in the area including Peace Officers.
Melvin's cost forecasting for this is 81.8 percent ($537,196) from the MD and 18.2 percent ($119,258) coming from the Town of Bonnyville. He proposed the cost be included in the councils' 2017 capital budget.
While the estimated prices are set with no government grant money, there is the possibility the BRFA could tap into some other funding sources.
The Alberta Community Partnership Grant is one avenue that could fund the radio system. Should they pursue an ACP grant, it would need to be matched in 2017. Melvin noted they may also look for other grants to lower the cost if the project is approved. Regardless of where the money comes from, the total cost for the AFRRCS comes in at $674,454.
The system, if approved, will be implemented and the emergency services will be trained on it in September 2017.
Previously, there had been discussions of upgrades but Melvin said they have changed direction after seeing the cost of owning their own system, which would be in the area of $2 million. This new route will lower the cost and will also be easier to maintain in the long run with it being looked after by the province.
The current system being used by the BRFA was implemented in 1993 and had an expected life span of 15 years. Over the last 10 years, the system has been experiencing major problems, which hinders the ability of local first responders.
Some of the current towers are upwards of 45-years-old and are not approved by the Canadian Standard Association (CSA). They can't support the bigger antennas that are needed.
“The issue that we have is that we have to replace parts that they don't make anymore,” Melvin explained. “It's similar to the computer you have is probably running Windows 10 and now you want to put Windows 95 on it. It's not going to run.”
The current system loses hand-held functionality in many areas around the municipality, causing a safety issue for the responders. With this new technology, the first responders will be able to better serve the community when it comes to dealing with emergencies.
AFRRCS is being implemented in 332 sites across the province; 328 of these have been completed.
It will also be a benefit when local responders are coordinating emergency scenes that require assistance from neighbouring municipalities. The St. Paul emergency services has already received funding for this in 2016 and Melvin touched on what is happening in Cold Lake.
“They have two choices; they either build their own radio communication system in or they go to AFRRCS and it's obviously a system that is managed by the Government of Alberta and you don't own the infrastructure, which is a significant savings. All they have to do is buy the hardware,” explained Melvin, who added this was the same discussion that Bonnyville had about their options for the radio system.
The matter of whether to provide funding for the BRFA to purchase the necessary equipment for the AFRRCS will be further discussed by council during upcoming 2017 budget deliberations.
