The Houston Fire Department recommends that City Council adopt an ordinance appropriating $23,785.15 from the FY2016 Equipment Acquisition Consolidated Fund for purchase of capital equipment to be used by the Houston Fire Department.
SPECIFIC EXPLANATION:
The Fire Chief recommends that City Council adopt an Ordinance authorizing the appropriation of $23,785.15 from the FY2016 Equipment Acquisition Consolidated Fund for the purchase of capital equipment items for HFD as approved in the FY2016 Equipment Acquisition Plan. The Appropriation ordinance is required to provide funding for the purchase of capital equipment by utilizing current City contract agreements or to issue a purchase order for purchases under $50,000.00.
Valcom Paging System: HFD is purchasing and integrating Valcom system with Voice-over-IP (VOIP) system at 16 fire stations to improve staff response to onsite emergencies. The old fire station phone system provided overhead paging for the purposes of notifying staff of calls, visitors, staff member emergencies and walk-in patients. The City upgraded the Fire Department's phone systems to Voice-over-IP (VOIP) but did not provide a paging component. Now the sites have no way to alert staff of onsite emergencies or calls, risking the delay of assistance in administering patient care. The Valcom paging system will integrate with the current VOIP system to provide this service.