911

The CSRD changed the fire dispatch service from the City of Salmon Arm to the City of Surrey in April of 2010. The Board had approved a total of $525,000 (as well $125,000 in 2009 and $400,000 in 2010) to upgrade internal communications systems  (of the CSRD VFDs) and establish a communications system with the City of Surrey. The actual cost of the project is projected to be $538,000 this is $13,000 higher than what was  the total budget estimate. Costs for the dispatch service will now be allocated over three years instead of two. The final fire dispatch service will be much better than it was planned to be. Additional improvements include; a new repeater at Queest Mountain and Mount Mackenzie, an upgrade to repeaters to accommodate narrow banding (insisted upon by the federal government) and an infrastructure improvement to communications with the City of Revelstoke. The CSRD is presently waiting for new frequencies from the federal government. The objective of the CSRD 9-1-1 fire dispatch  project is to; improve existing dispatch radio systems, to install repeaters at optimum locations, to install satellite back-up systems at remote VFD locations, and to integrate all radio and telephone systems for  municipal and rural fire departments to work together. The new repeater at Queest Mountain will provide a direct radio link to Revelstoke and better radio coverage is for the areas of Anglemont, Sicamous, Swansea Point, and Malakwa. Starting May, 2010, the annual operating cost of fire dispatch service was being reduced from $350,000 per year to $50,000 per year. The transition to the City of Surrey for fire emergency dispatch service suggested that an additional $15,000 annually in the 9-1-1 communications operating budget would be required for additional telephone lines. The projected increase to the annual communications operating budget will be $25,000. The annual fee for rental of repeater sites that were not originally planned for, accounted for some of the increase in the annual operating cost.