Holyoke improves emergency response technology with iPads, multichannel radios, chainsaws

The system to inform the public in emergencies will be updated.

Staff Photo by John SuchockiHolyoke Fire Chief John A. Pond shows new emergency radios and iPads to be used by department heads where citywide coordination is needed.

HOLYOKE – Two iPads that firefighters could use to provide live looks of a damage site in a storm are among technology the city has acquired with $26,000 in grants.

Also, the system officials use to inform residents during emergencies will be updated by fall to include texting, email and other methods, Fire Chief John A. Pond said Wednesday.

“Technology really helps us out,” said Pond, the city’s emergency management director.

Besides the iPads, the city has eight new portable radios equipped with 48 channels each, which will allow for improved communication with surrounding communities, he said.

The new technology includes a MacBook Pro laptop computer, an IBM compatible computer, two, 46-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors, to watch disaster relief efforts, and a machine to make laminated photo identification cards for emergency personnel for security reasons, he said.

Also, grant money will be used to buy chain saws and portable generators for disaster responses, he said.

The grants, one for $17,000 and another for $9,000, came recently from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Fire Department Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said.

When a big problem strikes, such as the Oct. 29 snow storm that overwhelmed the area, the Emergency Operations Center is at Fire Department headquarters, 600 High St.

For emergency notification of residents, the city will be changing from the current Swift 911, a computerized telephone calling system, to a system called Everbridge. Everbridge is an Internet-based system with capabilities that would allow the mayor to use a smartphone to tell residents about an emergency development, for example, he said.

Everbridge would let the city reach residents via email, voice mail, cell phone, land lines and with hearing-impaired technology, he said.

The plan is to have Everbridge operating by Oct. 1, he said.