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Tait Talks Successful Fireground Solutions
The Tait TP9800 multiband radio is the lightest radio in its class, offering multiband communication with minimal equipment load. Emergency calls arrive suddenly, and require immediate response. Communication equipment needs to enable the user to perform their role well, without being so heavy that it is a burden. Here are some examples from different public service agencies that need to minimize their equipment load.
Whether it’s a routine traffic stop or a pursuit of a suspect on foot, equipment weight matters. Carrying around excess equipment load for long shirts is not only a hindrance but also a health and safety concern for officers. A standard duty belt officers wear to carry their equipment including everything from handcuffs to batons and flashlights weighs close to 30 pounds (14kg). Officers need to remain as nimble and unburdened by equipment as possible.
Firefighters often have the heaviest equipment load of any first responder. Firefighters around the world typically carry 55 pounds (25kg) of regular equipment, this is not including their communications devices, only their flame retardant clothing, breathing apparatus and other equipment. Keeping their comms devices as lightweight as possible is critical.
The Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge is an annual charity event in New Zealand at Auckland’s Sky Tower. The tower stands at 328m making it the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, where participating fire fighters scale 51 flights of stairs with their typical 55 pounds of equipment to simulate a response to a fire in a tall building.
Paramedics often work handsfree of communications devices, and only carry vital lightweight equipment such as a portable radio or smartphone. Emergency Service agencies in the US respond to tens of millions of situations annually, some of these being extreme cases of distress where paramedics need to perform life saving CPR, or carefully moving a patient to a safe site. It’s crucial that EMTs have as little physical restriction as possible.
Lightweight comms equipment are vital for first responders. The Tait PT9800 is the lightest P25 multiband radio on the market, weighing in at just 13.42oz (382g) with a high capacity battery, that’s over 200g lighter than most conventional multiband portable radios on the market today.
