Broward County has invested millions in a new emergency response system .
“You as a resident at home when you call 911, you want the closest available unit to come handle your emergency,” said Sunrise Fire Rescue Chief John McNamara. “This new system grabs that unit, sends them to your house and gets you there much faster than the older system."
If you live in Sunrise, Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Tamarac, or Fort Lauderdale, the closest firefighters and paramedics will arrive even if they work for a different city. The new system allows emergency units to send a signal to the computer at the traffic intersection to turn the light green when they are less than a mile away.
“Once we turn the lights on, it activates the traffic preemption system,” McNamara said. “It allows us to essentially control the traffic devices from inside the vehicle.”
The new traffic system helped them getting the FBI agents shot in Sunrise to the hospital in record time.
“They were some of the fastest response times that our agency has participated in leaving our community and getting to the trauma center at Broward General Medical center,” he said.
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