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Wayne has 32 years of experience in the fire industry. Starting his career as a volunteer firefighter, Wayne made his way to Fire Chief of Cary, North Carolina. As Fire Chief, Wayne managed the full services of the Fire and Rescue Municipal Fire Department and had six fire stations under his guide. With his in-depth knowledge of the ACU-M combined with his fire industry expertise and experience, Wayne offers his ideas on how the ACU-M can benefit the fire industry.
During your 32 years in the fire industry, what were your roles and responsibilities?
I started out as a volunteer firefighter, and then moved to a career firefighter on an Engine Company. After that, I was the driver on engine then moved to Lieutenant then Captain in charge of the station and the engine company. I also served as the Fire Marshal enforcing the Codes and Standards and managing the purchasing and emergency planning. I moved on to become the Deputy Chief on the budgetary needs of the fire station and the planning and purchasing. I ended my career as a Fire Chief managing the full service Fire and Rescue Municipal Fire Department with six stations.
You seem to have done it all. With all of your fire experience and with your knowledge of the ACU-M, what are some of the key features of the device that could benefit the industry?
The ACU-M can be programmed quickly and easily which is a key feature when dealing with communications during a fire. Also, since the ACU-M is small and very lightweight, it is very versatile. This is important because it can be quickly removed from a vehicle application to a desk top operation. It can also be carried to a remote area to be used with its own power source, another key feature necessary for fire departments. Also, since the ACU-M provides the use of Nextel iDEN phone connectivity, all members carrying iDEN phones can also be connected to the other radio devices.
So, how exactly is the ACU-M easy to use in a high stress situation like a fire?
With the ACU-M, the programming work typically has already been done prior to the event and is stored in the unit which makes its use immediate. If not, then the programming can be accomplished in a matter of minutes and then it’s just a matter of connecting or disconnecting radios at the touch of a button.
Ok, then what are some of the specific instances where you envision a fire station benefiting from using the ACU-M?
Typically any call for service that involves other responding agencies coming in to assist responders such as Haz-Mat calls, searches, confined space rescues, recovery operations, building collapses, large events such as sporting events or festivals, just to name a few.
Out of all of those you just named, can you think back on any specific event in your many years of service where if you had an ACU-M, the work would’ve gone smoother?
There are many. The first thing that came to mind, however, was in post hurricane response in which a large number of outside resources came in to help. Without the proper interoperability device, we were not easily able to bring together these outside resources by radio. If we would have had an ACU-M, handling communications would have been a lot easier and our response would have been better.
You said you also served as the Deputy Chief in charge of purchasing. With your experience on the purchasing side of the fire industry, what is your opinion on the cost of the ACU-M?
The low cost of the ACU-M puts interoperability for fire departments in a price range that makes purchasing a real possibility. Since the cost is low, fire departments do not have to wait on a grant to purchase the device. ACU-Ms can either be purchased through your normal budget process or the use of grants. In some cases, departments are getting support from the corporate community in purchasing units and donating them to the department.
Ok, in your opinion, how does the ACU-M fit into the current market of interoperability devices for the fire department?
With the development of the ACU-M, the market now has a very affordable interoperability device that has the proven technology of the long time leader in the field of interoperability. It’s a device that is affordable and can be trusted to work well.
For more information, Wayne House can be reached by calling JPS at (919) 790-1011 or emailing Wayne at wayne.house@jps.com.
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