The Moose Jaw Fire Department plans to upgrade its computer software so it is compatible with modern systems and so the organization can continue to communicate clearly with firefighters.
The fire department plans to use $14,000 from the equipment reserve fund to purchase the necessary upgrades for the FIRE56 Telestaff Software program that it purchased in 2015. According to a council report, current internet browsers no longer support this version of software and upgrades are required since the department uses this system to call out firefighters in emergency call-back situations.
Specifically, the current version uses an outdated security protocol that many internet browsers such as Chrome are starting to block, the report continued. The non-supported protocol can be a security risk to the municipality’s network, as the server is hosted at the data centre at city hall.
As of this year, city hall has $16,570 saved to replace this software. The system is mostly used internally, although it can be used externally if necessary to support the provincial dispatch centre.
“Currently, there are no other alternatives for upgrading the software, which has the ability to integrate with FIRE56 Telestaff Software,” the report added. “If the software upgrades are not completed and the current software discontinues working, fire administration’s only alternative will be to have staff manually phone other staff to get them back (for) emergencies.”
During its Aug. 24 regular meeting, city council unanimously approved a motion for the fire department to purchase the necessary software upgrades using money from the equipment reserve fund.
Council discussion
New guidelines for emergency services are coming from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), said Coun. Chris Warren. He wondered if the upgrade to this software was in response to this forthcoming edict.
This software upgrade is about communicating with employees and tracking staffing and has nothing to do with the CRTC, said fire Chief Rod Montgomery. The software tracks the department’s day-to-day activities and can call eight people simultaneously. This is better than calling firefighters manually.
“The next generation for 911 is coming,” he continued, adding that newer software will allow all emergency services — police, fire and EMS — to be dispatched at the same time to an incident. Currently, most calls go through the dispatch centre in Regina and EMS is contacted first, while fire and police are contacted later.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 14.
