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Paging System Reliability Depends on Basic Maintenance and Backup Battery Power

When there is a public safety issue that requires a response from your department it is your paging system that acts as the critical link between the public and your personnel. The reliability of that link is dependent on regular testing, maintenance, and operational backup battery power. Alcom recommends implementing some basic procedures to ensure the reliability of your paging system.

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News July/August 2016

New Pumper Entering Service at East Selkirk Fire Department

“Everyone can’t wait to get their hands on it!” That is how Fire Chief Kevin Zacharkiw describes the excitement among members of the East Selkirk Fire Department as they await delivery of their new front line pumper. The new MVX 4-Man Crown pumper is 99% complete. Fort Garry Fire Trucks is currently putting on the finishing touches and delivery of the new pumper is expected mid-May.

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News May/June 2016

More Range, Battery Life, and Durability from New XPR 7000e and XPR 3000e Portable Radios

Motorola Solutions has introduced a new generation of XPR 7000 and 3000 series portable radios. Although they look almost exactly like their predecessors, they are packed with advanced features and improvements that will prove useful in fire and rescue operations.

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News March/April 2016

Bluetooth Integration Enabled:

MSA G1 SCBA and Motorola Two-Way Radios

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News Jan/Feb 2016

New Apparatus at Ste. Anne Fire Department:
More Than a Rescue Truck

After an electrical fire damaged Dauphin Fire Department’s 1976 King ladder truck, it was necessary for Fire Chief Cam Abrey and his team to find a replacement. Budget consideration was important, but time was even more critical.

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News November 2015

New Apparatus at Ste. Anne Fire Department:
More Than a Rescue Truck

After serving the community as a firefighter for over 35 years, more than 25 of those years as Fire Chief, Ken Dayment retired on August 1st of this year. But before he retired he put the icing on his retirement cake by making sure the department purchased a new rescue truck. That new rescue truck is now in service at the Ste. Anne Fire Department. You can call it Ken Dayment’s pride and joy.

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News September 2015

Preventative Maintenance

Improves Radio Performanceand Reduces Replacement Costs You check the oil regularly and make sure the gas cap is tightened after every fill-up. The pump is tested to spec every year to make sure it is running properly. You maintain your apparatus because you know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

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News November 2014

Kleefeld Fire Department

Acquires New Acres Pumper The biggest pump in the RM of Hanover is now in service with Kleefeld Fire Department.

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News September 2014

MAFC Conference Hosted by Riding Mountain Mutual
Aid District – A Great Success

The 2014 MAFC Conference held in dauphin Manitoba was a great success. It started with golfing on Thursday morning at a gorgeous and challenging golf course located in Gilbert Plains. This was followed by the trade show located at Dauphin’s Credit Union Place. The venue was ideal for the event with plenty of room in the arena for trade-show booths and equipment displays. Just outside the arena there were live vehicle extraction demonstrations. The trade show was well attended both Thursday evening and Friday afternoon.

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News July 2014

Do Have a Back-Up Communications Plan?

The Province of Manitoba Emergency Plan warns that “The modern telecommunications infrastructure used in Manitoba is extremely reliable in day to day use, and is often taken for granted. Nevertheless, this infrastructure can be damaged or otherwise interrupted.” FleetNet radio, cellular phones, internet and traditional landlines often share common transmission lines – like optical fibre and microwave systems. When one of these “pipes” is damaged, or has a major failure, it can affect all technologies that transmit messages through the “pipe”, whether they are generated by a FleetNet radio, cell phone, computer or landline phone.

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News May 2014

Introducing the Minitor VI Two-Tone Voice Pager:

Rugged, Reliable and Built for the Realities of Fire, Rescue Services The needs and environments of volunteer firefighters are unique and challenging. Budgets are small, distances great, cellular coverage spotty. Yet the mission remains critical: helping to protect communities and helping to save lives..

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News March 2014

RM of Piney Expands Fire Department – New Fire Hall Added in Woodridge

Beginning in mid-January, the residents and businesses in Woodridge, and the surrounding areas of the Rural Municipality of Piney, will be served by 21 enthusiastic and committed volunteer firefighters based out of a new fire hall located in Woodridge.

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News January 2014

New Rescue Boat Launched in East Selkirk

Water rescue is serious business for the East Selkirk Fire Department and now they have the right boat to do the job safely. At their annual open house, held on Saturday, October 5th, the East Selkirk firefighters introduced the community to their brand new 18 foot fibreglass bottom Zodiak rescue boat. To continue reading please click link below...

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News November 2013

Alcom is a Proud Supporter of STARS in Manitoba.

Since 2011, when STARS first arrived in Manitoba to provide emergency service during the flood, Alcom has been supporting the cooperation of STARS with the emergency responders on the ground. Alcom was called upon by many rural fire departments to help ensuring effective communication between first responders preparing a landing zone at an emergency scene and the STARS pilot. This was facilitated using Fleetnet radios on the simplex channel.

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News September 2013

 

Helping You Save Money
Discounts and rebates for your municipality.

In the past year Manitoba Municipalities have saved over $25,000 on their radio equipment from Alcom while earning valuable rebates from the Municipalities Trading Company of Manitoba Ltd. (MTCML)

The MTCML is the business arm of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities. The Trading Company allows the members of the AMM to purchase products and services at low prices through the power of bulk buying. The MTCML official suppliers offer hundreds of municipal products and services. The MTCML has individual contracts with each of these suppliers that ensure the best possible pricing for members..

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News May 2013

New Pumper in RM of Tache’s Landmark Fire Hall

Tache Fire Department has put a new Acres Top-Mount-Enclosure Fire Apparatus into service at the Landmark Fire Hall. This is the fulfilment of a long term plan that facilitates other important changes being made.

A 1987 cube van has been retired form service and the department has discontinued using the 450 GPM pump on their 1994 tanker truck that had been their primary pump up to now. It continues to serve as a tanker.

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News March 2013

Aging Paging Systems Are At Risk For Failure
Your paging system is your primary means of dispatch. Can you depend on it?

For the past thirty years most fire departments in Manitoba have depended on paging systems for instant transmission of dispatch information to their members.

The Fire Reporting Emergency Dispatch (F.R.E.D.) system was operated by MTS starting in the 1980’s and served the province well for many years. When MTS pulled the plug on F.R.E.D. in 2007 many fire departments established new paging systems based at their fire halls while others continued to use the old equipment left behind by MTS. At that time the majority of the F.R.E.D. equipment was over twenty years old and equipment failures were not uncommon.

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News January 2013

New Fort Garry Pumper Delivered to Brandon Fire Emergency Services

    • Spartan Metro Star chassis with ER body
    • 24” raised roof
    • 20,000lb front axle, 24,000lb rear axle
    • Cummins diesel 450 hp engine
    • Allison 3000 EVS transmission
    • Darley 1250 US Gallon/min midship pump
    • 2002 Foam Pro system with Class A & B foam
    • Front trash line with 2" plumbing & foam
    • Federal Signal LED lights
    • Internal ladder storage
    • 500 Imperial Gallon water tank
    • 20 Imperial Gallon dual foam tank
    • Motorola Astro XTL5000 dual head FleetNet radio
    • David Clark intercom system with radio PTT

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News Novemeber 2012

YOUR RADIO IS ONLY AS RELIABLE AS THE BATTERY THAT POWERS IT – Make Sure It’s Proven Tough

Your radio is your lifeline. A fire fighter crawling through thick smoke and flames relies not only on his instincts but also on his tools. As the fire rages on he can’t compromise with the safety of his tools, including his radio and its battery, which have to be able to survive extreme conditions.

Batteries are an integral part of designing a radio system. Poor quality batteries can cause radio performance issues. Motorola engineers design and test their radios and batteries as a system to stringent specifications for performance and reliability.


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News September 2012

2012 MAFC Conference In Pictures

The Pembina Triangle Mutual Aid District and Winkler Fire Rescue hosted this year’s MAFC Conference and AGM in Winkler from June 7th to 9th. The conference theme was “Communications”. Congratulations to the host committee for organizing a successful and enjoyable event.

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News July 2012

New Pumper at RM of Springfield Fire Department

This top mount enclosed pumperis built on an International 7400 WorkStar Chassis. The enclosure is air conditioned and includes the Pump Operators Panel and SCBA seats for four firefighters. Click to read more about the Additional features.

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News May 2012

Manitoba Hydro Purchases New Pumper Truck for Keeyask Generating Station

Construction will soon begin on the $5.6 billion Keeyask Generating Station and Manitoba Hydro’s Fire Protection Service will be ready. The first step, which is already underway, is the construction of a 25km access road and accompanying road camp. Then the full construction camp, designed to house up to 2000 construction workers, will be built. A camp of that size requires protection from a well equipped crew of fire fighters.

Manitoba Hydro Fire Marshal Don Thomson has already identified three crew members that served on the Wuskwatim Generating Station volunteer fire crew who will be working at the Keeyask site. Fifteen more people will be selected from the construction crews to be trained to an acceptable level of proficiency as volunteer firefighters.


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Fire Service Radio News March 2012

St. Pierre Fire Departments Takes Delivery of a Brand New Multi-Purpose Truck

St Pierre Fire Chief Patrick LaRoche is extremely pleased with the new truck recently delivered by Grunthal Emergency Vehicles. For over eighteen years the department was using a bright yellow converted ambulance, dating to 1984, as a rescue van. As Chief LaRoche explains reliability and safety were becoming increasing concerns; “We were thinking one day, when is it going to fail? The steering was getting bad and you had to crank it again and again to get it to start.”


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News January 2012

Enbridge Helps Three Fire Departments Invest in New Technology

Three fire departments serving communities in the Enbridge right-of-way area have recently been able to make significant investments in new radio technology thanks to the Enbridge Safe Community grant program. Enbridge donated funds to the Winkler Fire Rescue Service, Altona/Rhineland Emergency Service and the Gretna Fire Department. All three Alcom customers invested these funds in new Motorola radio equipment for on-scene and E911 communications.

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News September 2011

3 More Fire Departments Benefit from Enbridge Grants

The Enbridge Safe Community grant program has made it possible for three more fire departments to make important investments in new equipment. Enbridge has donated funds to the Pipestone-Albert District Fire Department, Oak Lake Fire Department and the Wallace District Fire Department.

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News November 2011