St. Albert first responders have upgraded to a new provincial digital communication system.
Last month, the St. Albert RCMP switched over from their old radio system to the new Alberta First Responder Radio Communications System (AFRRCS).
The St. Albert detachment is one of the 112 RCMP detachments migrating over to the new system by the end of 2019. The radio system first went into operation in 2016. Other emergency responder groups, such as Alberta Health Services and all its EMS units, as well as all Alberta Justice and Solicitor General operations such as sheriffs, fish and wildlife, and corrections are moving over to the new system.
In 2016, St. Albert set aside $47,000 to allow for limited connectivity to the system by fire services.
There is no cost to connect to the AFRRCS network, but municipalities are responsible for outfitting fire and other departments with portable radios. Each radio costs between $1,200 and $7,000, depending on the make and model.
Fraser Logan, spokesperson for K Division, said before the migration first responders such as RCMP and firefighters were using different radio systems and had trouble communicating with each other, so the province unrolled the new system to help first responders communicate more easily.
“So a lot of first responders were just not able to talk to each other seamlessly for all sorts of different technical reasons. So in the past, emergency medical fire services and police you know, they used a lot of their own standalone radio systems. And so AFRRCS just makes it standardized,” Logan said.
Encrypted system
Logan said the new system is encrypted for Albertans' privacy and officer safety.
“Depending on the situation, officers need to be able to communicate safely when they are talking about tactical situations,” Logan said.
“If they're looking for a dangerous suspect, if we were using an insecure communications platform that a suspect was able to listen in to, then they can evade capture or act very unpredictably. So that is very much a concern.”
Logan noted Albertans' personal information is also being shared through RCMP communications and the new encrypted system allows for more privacy for residents.
The $438-million project has been in the works for years but has begun rolling over over the last three years.
The new system proved successful during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016.
The province deployed one of two Site On Wheels (SOWs) to Fort McMurray on the day 80,000 residents were forced to flee their homes under a mandatory evacuation order.
The SOW had a cache of 150 portable radios. The radios allowed front line staff from 32 different fire departments to communicate with the command centre and they also allowed for 911 dispatch to continue to field calls from the back of a moving vehicle while the command centre was relocated away from the fire.
AFRRCS was also necessary after the fire severely damaged the Rogers tower and cause the entire communications network to go down. For two hours, firefighters had to use their cellphones to communicate with dispatch.
