CLEARFIELD – Across the county, emergency response teams will soon be presented with the opportunity to equip their vehicles with Mobile Data Terminals.
On Monday morning, the Clearfield County Commissioners approved a proposal from Motorola to purchase the MDTs in the amount of $394,677. Joe Mitchell, of Clearfield County Emergency Management, said they would use funding that’s available from the Firefighter’s Grant.
Mitchell said the MDTs would be primarily placed in vehicles used by the emergency medical services and fire companies. He said these terminals would allow emergency personnel to communicate with the dispatch office.
In addition, he said they would be used to display mapping and information relevant to the duties of the personnel. He said they would also have the capabilities to pull information directly from the screen of the MDT.
“It will cut down airing critical information,” he said.
Commissioner Mark McCracken said it would be a “huge upgrade” for emergency responders across the county. He also believed it would not only reduce county costs, but also eliminate confusion. Commissioner Joan Robinson-McMillen said it would also enhance their safety measures.
Board Chairman John A. Sobel said the MDTs would come with requirements that must be followed by any emergency response team that accepts the equipment upgrade. He said the MDT equipment must be well taken care of.
Although she realizes the county is mostly rural, Robinson-McMillen said many smaller areas must build their emergency response teams on a base of one or two volunteers. She said these same volunteers maintain at least one job.
She then asked if these emergency response teams would be assisted with the equipment implementation. Mitchell said his office would be available to offer any necessary assistance to these areas.
