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Council approves WestNet agreement to modernize fire‑station alerting; officials cite safety and reduced dispatcher workload
Summary
The City Council authorized the city manager to execute a professional‑services agreement with WestNet LLC to install a CAD‑integrated fire alerting system at the city's three fire stations. Fire and police chiefs said the automated tones and 'heartsaver' sequencing will improve turnout times and reduce stress on firefighters.
City staff asked the council to approve a professional‑services agreement with WestNet LLC to install new CAD‑integrated alerting systems at all three El Centro fire stations. The equipment has been procured and is awaiting installation; the agreement covers installation, milestone testing and acceptance.
Fire leadership described the upgrade as a health and safety enhancement. The new system uses automated voice dispatching and 'heartsaver' tones that build gradually in volume and reduce abrupt awakenings for on‑duty personnel. Staff said the automated voice tones come from the CAD system and reduce radio air time for dispatchers while delivering clearer initial dispatch information to stations.
Council members asked about interoperability with the El Centro Police Department’s new CAD system (RimsCAD) and the expected life/maintenance of the equipment. Staff said the equipment is compatible with the department’s new CAD solution, certification and acceptance testing are built into the installation scope, and warranties were included in the agreement. A public commenter (Martin Nunes via Zoom) praised the automation for likely reducing turnout times.
The council approved the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the agreement and voted in favor of moving forward with installation.
What’s next: Staff will finalize the agreement and proceed with installation and acceptance testing per the contract milestones; staff said the work will be billed as an already‑approved capital outlay for FY26.
