Boston Fire Department Tests Automatic Voice Dispatcher
From the first electric fire alarm system in the world, to the first automated voice dispatch in our area, the Boston Fire Department is at the forefront of technology, using newer equipment to help them dispatch calls faster.
Steve Keeley, the Superintendent of the Boston Fire Department’s fire alarm division, gave NBC10 Boston a look at the “PURVIS Systems” alerting system. It allows dispatchers in the Fenway command center to dispatch calls with a click of the mouse, instead of physically reading the call out.
“We call her PURVIS . That’s the software company sometimes we jokingly say Miss PURVIS, because it’s a female voice, and it’s the same type of voice you have on your GPS,” said Keeley. The automated dispatch is always the same tone, never too fast, and doesn’t have an accent. Keeley says it makes their dispatch times faster, so firefighters get out quicker.
“We just want to keep getting all this new technology to be more efficient to serve the people better.”
In addition to the the automated calls, the Boston Fire Department is also looking at technology that would track firefighters on iPads, in case they become lost or trapped in a building.
