Command and Communicate

Mobile command and communications vehicles play a critical role with specialised emergency response teams to manage, organise and monitor incidents – such as major fires and natural disasters – over long periods of time. These mobile command centres often include radio and video equipment, space for personnel and conference rooms, as well as storage areas for equipment. Fire departments, law enforcement departments, and other governmental agencies are typical customers for this type of vehicle.
The most significant trend in this market may have more to do with the customer than with the accelerating changes in technology. Today, customers are much more in tune with what they need,” says Bill Proft, senior chief engineer and market manager for Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. “They understand the technology a lot better than they did even a few years ago, and they know what their needs are. Customers are coming to us a lot more educated about the technologies and the capabilities they want in their mobile command vehicle.”
Mobile Command Capabilities
A mobile command and communications vehicle is designed to serve a wide range of requirements, and may contain the following types of features and technologies:
• The latest radio, video, surveillance, and communications systems to help emergency response leaders manage any emergency.
• Command and communications equipment that is organised for optimal use. This equipment should be stored in easily accessible areas, such as above command workstations.
• Slide-out command areas that contain room for personnel, equipment storage and conference rooms. These slide-out rooms can greatly increase interior space for meetings and conferences.
• Exterior-facing video and communications equipment for incident command meetings that are built into the body and shielded from the elements with a well-insulated compartment door.
• Telescopic light, weather, and surveillance equipment with the ability to pull in vital data while illuminating an emergency scene for long periods of time.
• Interiors that are designed to maximise flexibility.
Types of Vehicles
Mobile command vehicles are built on a wide selection of custom or commercial chassis types and sizes to accommodate a range of customer requirements. These include everything from small commercial to large custom chassis, giving customers the flexibility to design a vehicle that fits its unique requirements and available budget. “We build command vehicle with bodies that run from 4.3 metres to 10.4 metres long, and everything in between,” states Proft. “Some departments and agencies don not need to carry 12 people and lots of equipment on board, so a more compact vehicle is the correct choice. And with today’s electronics, you can fit a lot of componentry into a relatively small space.”
A wide range of emergency vehicle types can incorporate mobile command capability functions. “Other types of emergency vehicles, such as HazMat apparatus, may have an area inside the body or cab that accommodates a small laboratory, as well as a space that features a computer network and an external video camera to help monitor a scene,” says Proft. “In fact, you can include those capabilities on any custom rescue vehicle – with a small command area in the crew cab with, for example, weather monitoring and video capabilities.”
When it comes to engineering and building mobile command units, Pierce often works together with sister company, Frontline Communications of Clearwater, Florida. “When a sales representative submits a mobile command vehicle specification to our team, we determine the optimal building process based, in part, on the electronics requirements,” states Proft. “If the customer’s requirements include sophisticated communications electronics – such as connecting radios, cell phones, satellite phones, and other components – we call on Frontline’s expertise. They design many integrated mobile communications systems. Frontline operates exclusively in that domain, and has tremendous expertise because of its work in engineering sophisticated, mobile television network broadcast vehicles. When we collaborate with Frontline Communications, it is a powerful combination.”
Listening and Staying on the Cutting Edge
The engineering and building process for a custom vehicle manufacturer should begin with finding out as much as possible about the customer’s needs. “It is primarily a matter of listening to what the customer wants to do,” says Proft. “A manufacturer needs to understand the requirements, and have a process in place to bring it together in a vehicle. That is the approach we take with everything on the truck. Not just the electronics, but also the cab, body and chassis. ‘How are you going to use this truck?’ ‘What do you need to carry in the vehicle?’ ‘How many people need to be inside, and how do they interface with one another?’ All these play a role in what type of vehicle will do the best possible job. We have many different products, and we can configure one to meet a customer’s specific requirements. It is not always easy but, if you are a true custom builder, that is what you need to do.”
With the explosion of new technologies, vehicle manufacturers need to focus resources on how to integrate these new products into their offerings. “We help our customers stay abreast of new capabilities,” Proft explains. “The technologies continue to improve, such as video cameras and high definition electronics. And we have a person whose responsibilities include sourcing and managing the development of these new products and accessories. He is constantly searching for new technologies, and works together with our colleagues at Frontline to make them available to our customers.”
A Gentle Reminder about the Suspension
With expensive and sensitive electronics on board, a vehicle manufacturer needs to focus a lot of energy on the chassis and suspension that often carry these capabilities into rough and/or off-road conditions. Available chassis technologies, such as Pierce’s TAK-4 independent front suspension, provide a smoother ride for personnel and sensitive electronics. “With command centres, independent front suspension is a definite plus,” says Proft. “It gives a far better ride quality than a straight axle suspension. It also offers other significant benefits, such as a shorter stopping distance.”
An independent front suspension also gives the vehicle an increased weight carrying capability. “Departments sometimes tend to specify a too light or too heavy axle on the front and rear end,” says Proft. “It is very important to incorporate axles that are properly sized for the application. There are cases where, for example, you have a heavier stainless steel body and carry lots of equipment on board. In these cases, the more capable independent front suspension is a big plus.”
The rear suspension components receive an equal measure of attention. “We always recommend an air ride suspension on the rear as it will help cushion the sensitive equipment,” states Proft. “If you are carrying $200,000 worth of electronics on the vehicle, the last thing you want to do is bump and jar it going down the road or maneuvring off-road in an emergency. A stiff suspension may be too much, and you have to look at weight balance and make sure you are not over sprung or under sprung on both axles.”
Example at Work: Frisco Command Vehicle
Pierce recently built a custom command centre vehicle for the Frisco, Texas Fire Department located directly north of Dallas, Texas. This vehicle is possibly the most advanced mobile command centre the company has ever produced.
Among its many technologies, the apparatus is equipped with highly advanced video streaming capabilities. The system enables the mobile command centre to receive live streaming video feeds from any of the security cameras located within the city’s 36 schools. This capability allows first responders access to live video from inside schools and the ability to share this footage with the department’s Emergency Operations Centre and all first responders.
The same live streaming video capability is available through feeds from all 200 of the city’s “pan-tilt-zoom” traffic monitoring cameras. This enables the department to pinpoint and assess storm damage or other emergency information more quickly and accurately to provide citizens with a new level of service and support.
The vehicle is built on the Pierce Velocity chassis with TAK-4 independent front suspension, 450-hp engine, and a 62,800 GVW rating. Other features and capabilities include a 10.5-metre long (2.23-metre interior walkway height) aluminium walk-in command body with three slide-out modules for additional room inside when deployed at an emergency scene. The vehicle has a conference room with six workstations – two with full dispatch capabilities. Total interior floor space with slide- out rooms extended is more than 30 square metres.
On board communications equipment includes a video teleconferencing system and an 800 digital radio system to provide interoperable communications among all responders. The unit has 20 video display screens throughout the apparatus, including a one-metre screen mounted outside the vehicle for incident team briefings.
Imaging equipment on the vehicle includes portable thermal imaging camera receivers, a mast-mounted thermal imaging camera and mast mounted High Definition (HD) camera to quickly assess emergency situations.
Example at Work: Northern Illinois
The Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) is a joint venture of suburban municipal police departments surrounding the Chicago metropolitan area. NIPAS offers services that the individual departments cannot alone afford to provide their respective communities.
The Pierce command vehicle is deployed to incidents such as search warrants, hostage situations, large-scale events and even dignitary protection. The vehicle is typically deployed with a single driver who drives the vehicle from its central location to carry all of the required gear to the scene.
What is on board is an impressive list of capabilities designed to make NIPAS more effective and efficient. Behind the driver is a command area, which has six radios and all the frequencies from the 65 active NIPAS communities and state-wide interoperability frequencies. The unit has the capability to become a secondary command post in the event the team has multiple simultaneous emergencies occurring.
Once on a scene, the vehicle has a dedicated area for interviewing people that are involved with the situation – a place for the agency’s negotiations personnel to speak to them in a controlled environment. As a support unit for the Emergency Services Team, the vehicle needs to carry a wide array of equipment, including ballistic shields of every kind and a wide assortment of lighting equipment to meet specialised needs. The vehicle is designed to allow teams to work more effectively and safely, and has additional compartment space to accommodate future equipment needs.
Example at Work: North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue
North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue serves the citizens of North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, West New York and Guttenburg, New Jersey. This region, situated directly across the Hudson River from New York City, is the most densely populated area in the United States, with high rise buildings, bridges, the Lincoln Tunnel, light rail lines, railroads, industrial and commercial structures, shopping centres, congested highways and hazardous materials storage.
North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue recently purchased a Pierce mobile command vehicle to support its fire suppression, rescue services, marine division and HazMat services teams. The vehicle is built on a commercial chassis and features a compact 5.5-metre body. The unit includes 1.9 metres of interior walkway height, a conference area, four workstations, computer network, six line telephone network, satellite system, audio/video system with LCD monitor and 4-channel DVR, electronics rack, exterior awning and a light tower.
As these examples demonstrate, the capabilities of today’s mobile command vehicles are quite extraordinary. And as technology evolves and the services that first responders undertake expand, so too will the capabilities of mobile command vehicles.

Kevin Brandes is a U.S. based technical editor specialises in fire and emergency products and technologies

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