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St. Mary's County, Md. Deploys New Emergency Communications System

System will support police, fire and medical response.

LEONARDTOWN, Md. -- St. Mary's County, Md. needed a new emergency communications system. The county had issues such as inconsistent radio coverage in parts of the county leaving certain areas unable to receive radio coverage and pages, in addition to handheld communication that was previously limited to only a few miles. The county's outdated technology meant that police units and other first responders were sometimes unreachable by county dispatchers, and crews were often unable to use their radios to summon assistance when required.

The county chose iXP to design and construct a new communications center supporting police, fire and medical response personnel, and an emergency 911 call answering facility that incorporates new telephony, computer-aided dispatch and a radio network.

The company first began working with St. Mary's County in 1999 to help assess its radio and communications issues. The county's new radio system allows first responders to be reached in even the most distant corners of the county.

"With nearly 100,000 residents, St. Mary's County needed a more up-to-date and reliable communications system to be able to reach its residents in times of emergency," said Phillip Cooper, director of Emergency Communications for St. Mary's County.
Miriam Jones is a former chief copy editor of Government Technology, Governing, Public CIO and Emergency Management magazines.