June 19, 2012 -- Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, announces the recent upgrade to mission-critical call handling equipment at the Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) in Alexandria, Va. The 23 call taking positions at the Alexandria DEC and the 11 call taking positions at the center's backup facility are now equipped with the geo-diverse Sentinel(R) Patriot(R) call processing solution and the Aurora(R) management information system (MIS). Both sites also are protected from computer security threats with the Cassidian Communications suite of Managed Services.

The Sentinel Patriot call handling solution's IP architecture, designed expressly for 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) applications, is based on current and evolving critical communications technologies and standards. This allows for the sophisticated design of backup, disaster recovery and overflow operations with the assured ability to provide reliable service under unexpected conditions.

Completing the NG9-1-1 system suite designed for Alexandria's DEC is the Aurora solution for complete call center metrics as well as the comprehensive Managed Services offering for around-the-clock direct and secure connectivity with the Service Management Center, ensuring the integrity and reliability of its solutions.

The DEC is responsible for handling all emergency and administrative calls from Alexandria's approximately 140,000 city residents. In 2011, the center received close to 380,000 emergency and administrative calls for service.

According to the DEC, each dispatcher is responsible for all routine radio work in the city, including call dispatching and ordering of certain auxiliary services, such as tow trucks, animal control and other city services. The dispatchers also facilitate the transfer of medical emergency and fire calls within the city limits to the Alexandria Fire Department.

The Alexandria DEC also is equipped with The Communicator!(R) NXT TM emergency notification system and the GeoCast(R) Web TM mapping solution. Both solutions are fully redundant SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms, residing in Cassidian Communications state-of-the-art, geo-diverse hosting facilities. Alexandria officials have secure access to data, maps and infrastructure, and are able to activate notifications easily. Both the solutions and the users also are backed by 24/7 technical support, helping ensure their success when and if emergency activations are necessary.

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: http://www.fireengineering.com