PURVIS Systems Awarded $2.3 Million Contract to Modernize Emergency Reporting Call Boxes for New York City Fire Department

Expanding Decades-Long Business Relationship with the FDNY, PURVIS to Design, Produce and Support the Emergency Reporting System/Electro Mechanical Alarm Display Systems that Enable Citizen Communication with the Department

Middletown, RI, October 9, 2007 – PURVIS Systems Incorporated, an IT systems and service provider for public safety, emergency management and defense industries, today announced that it has been awarded a $2.3 million contract by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to modernize the Department’s Emergency Reporting System/Electro Mechanical Alarm Display Systems (ERS/EMADS). The award builds upon a partnership between PURVIS Systems and the FDNY that began more than 25 years ago and has enabled PURVIS to support the service and product needs of the FDNY as the department has expanded and significantly upgraded its technology infrastructure.

A critical connection between New York’s citizens and the City’s emergency services is the fire/police pull box, some of which were implemented more than thirty years ago. They are located throughout the City and provide a direct connection between a fire/police department dispatcher and the reporting party. PURVIS will utilize its leading-edge digital design technology to upgrade New York City’s older call box electronics, strengthening the system’s connection to the City’s network infrastructure without replacing the existing call box enclosures.

Meeting or exceeding all requirements of the FDNY, PURVIS Systems proposed a box modernization plan that will be backward compatible with the current box structure, including redundant modular components to minimize box downtime and will decrease repair time. PURVIS System’s modular design incorporates the latest Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technologies to provide accurate and cost effective filtering and signal conditioning. The system’s digital processing component also includes standard protocols and computer languages to simplify troubleshooting and provide a clear, rapid path for future system upgrades, as they are required.

PURVIS Systems will begin the immediate production of call box electronics that, once approved, will be installed in the City’s existing call box enclosures. The production version of the call box will consist of a face plate, fire and police button flaps, speaker, microphone and electronics compatible with legacy and future ERS systems. The modernized box meets all FDNY requirements, including: ― Interfacing with the existing current loop Network of 788 above and below copper cables;
― Signaling from the boxes (110 Hz – 170 Hz);
― Signaling to boxes (200 Hz – 270 Hz);
― Voice Audio (375 Hz – 3 kHz);
― Support of system self test (200 Hz – 270 Hz);
― No interference between signal and voice channels;
― Half duplex Voice channel operation;
― Provision of four digit call box number for CAD compatibility;
― Two button (fire/police) feature compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to extend what has been a very positive partnership between PURVIS Systems and the FDNY,” said John Desposito, president of PURVIS Systems, Inc., “We are fully dedicated to delivering on all of our commitments to the FDNY, with a unique understanding of the needs of first responders in New York City and around the world. As a result, the FDNY can be assured that our engineers and project managers will have the skills and expertise, as well as the availability, to support them whenever necessary.”

Previous projects that PURVIS Systems has undertaken on behalf of the FDNY include the remediation and maintenance of the Department’s Starfire I Dispatch system, modernization and maintenance of its Emergency Reporting System, and the design implementation and maintenance of the FDNY Voice Alarm, PC/ATS and SRS systems.