By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
HILLSBOROUGH — It looks like any standard computer as it sits on a designated ledge in the front seat of a regular firetruck, but the Rugged Eyes computer system, designed to help firefighters during emergencies, is a nearly indestructible piece of equipment that may make saving lives a little easier.
”We have to give the firefighters all the tools we possibly can, especially as the world becomes a more dangerous place,” Chief Fire Marshal Chris Weniger said, sitting in the front seat of a firetruck at Hillsborough Township Vol. Fire Co. No. 2, on Route 206, Sept. 18. “We are very proud of this program.”
Currently, he said, they are trying to get the money to put the technology which has been installed in seven firetrucks throughout the township so far, with three other trucks currently using an older version of the technology in more of the trucks throughout the township. Chief Weniger said each system costs a total of $4,000, which includes the computer, software and mounting in the truck.
The systems are being purchased by the township’s Board of Fire Commissioners, with fire district taxes.
”We are hoping to get more, depending on the budget,” he said. “We previously tried out some inexpensive systems, and had those for a year and a half. We’ve had these new systems for about a month.”
The computer system is designed to provide a GPS system to enable firefighters to find their way more quickly when they get a call, in addition to keeping specific information about commercial buildings based on prior fire inspections.
”When a call comes in, we can type in the address and it automatically gives directions,” Chief Weniger said. “It also has a GPS receiver, with a little red dot that shows firefighters exactly where they are.”
In the future, Chief Weniger said, he is hoping to get Internet access for the system to allow dispatch to plug an address into its own computers and automatically send it to the firefighters’ machines so that the directions are ready as soon as they leave for a call. Inside the firetrucks, the computers have touchscreen display monitors for easier user.
Aside from the directions, Lt. Rich Bartolucci, of HTVFC No. 2, said the program also displays on the screen where the nearest fire hydrants are.
”Previously, the hydrant locations were strictly found by ‘line-of-sight,’ and the firefighters would be troubled by having to try and find a hydrant in the area to obtain water when arriving to battle a fire,” he said. “Now, with the new computer system, the actual hydrant locations will be shown on the GPS maps provided by the software. Currently, there is nowhere that has the information on the hydrant locations, so that is a tremendous new benefit to us.”
Lt. Bartolucci, who has used the system on previous calls, said that using these visual directions on the computer screen makes finding calls easier than having to rely on paper directions.
”We (relied) on paper-based directories of the streets in Hillsborough Township, which only lists its cross-streets and does not contain any maps,” he said. “So not only did it take extra time to manually flip through a book to locate a street name, but then you may have had to backtrack through the cross streets until you found one which you knew how to get to.”
According to Chief Weniger, the GPS system on the computer can also enable firefighters to find their way if they are called to a situation outside of town.
”We rely on the Somerset County 911 dispatchers at times to provide us with directions on how to get to addresses, mostly during calls for help outside of the township, which has since been alleviated by the use of the GPS systems,” Lt. Bartolucci said.
In addition to these features, Chief Weniger said they have entered information gathered at inspections of commercial properties into the computers to assist firefighters covering fires at office buildings, schools and other public properties around town. By typing in the address of the building, he said, firefighters can see emergency contact information for the property, building information, hazards, floor plans and other facts about the location.
”We can know where the sprinklers are, where to turn off the gas, height of the building,” he said. “We update this about once a month for every building that gets inspected.”
Chief Weniger said the computers also have a word program for any notes about certain buildings or calls for future reference. He said they are hoping to use Internet access soon to assist in updating information and sending it to firefighters.
Although the program works for commercial development, Chief Weniger said they unfortunately cannot use it for residential homes because detailed information is not available.”We are trying to put development maps in the system for things firefighters have to know when responding,” he said. “But there is no manager or owner of the developments for everything else.”
In the future, Chief Weniger said there are several other facets to the computer system that he is hoping to have the funds to purchase, including a program to be used in the event of a chemical spill. He said the program can create a circle on the floor plan of a building that shows the entire area that must be evacuated to protect from the spill.
”We are headed in these directions to help the citizens,” he said. “The fire commission is very receptive to all this as long as we are careful and get the most for our dollars.”
Overall, Chief Weniger said he is very pleased with the system thus far, and the town’s firefighters are getting used to using it in a continued effort to keep residents safe.
”The things it can do are mind-boggling,” he said.