Case Study: Litchfield County Dispatch

Profile

HQ: Torrington, CT
Population: 180,333
Sites: 40+ across county (fire, police and ambulance agencies)

Business IT Challenges. Solved.

  • Reduced Risk

  • Optimized Service Quality

  • Improved Operational Effectiveness

Challenge

When an emergency call comes into the dispatch center, the staff notifies the appropriate agency by voice pager and/or radio. If that dispatch message is not picked up, for example if the person is in an area with bad reception, then there is the risk that the response would not be initiated in a timely fashion or the message garbled. Such a circumstance creates an unacceptable level of safety risk to county residents and businesses.

Solution

In order to resolve this situation and improve reliability & responsiveness throughout the county, Litchfield County Dispatch retained Flagship Networks to design, build and implement a new redundant communications system, interfacing with the State of CT Public Safety Data Network (PSDN) which connects the 40+ locations. This newly designed network allowed the deployment of Video Status Boards to each location, fully displaying each complete, accurate dispatch message that has also gone out over IP Radio and Computer-Assisted Dispatch (CAD).
  • Flagship engineers designed and implemented the network connectivity to the 40+ sites using layer 3 switches with appropriate battery backup UPS’s as well as T1 & microwave links.
  • The new network configuration, with dynamic routing, allows approved usage of CAD, intercom systems, radio systems and storage replication. Redundant site routing with convergence allows for single site node failure in the PSDN ring.

Benefits

With a more robust, stable network Litchfield County Dispatch can better serve its communities’ residents and businesses, providing first responders with more reliable communications and video status boards which display real-time information regarding emergency situations across an extensive and diverse geographic coverage area.

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