Lincoln Fire & Rescue (LF&R) in Lincoln, Nebraska, offers an all hazards emergency response service including fire and emergency medical services with professional personnel on staff. Each member is sworn to protect the lives and property of all Lincoln city residents. The fire department promotes life safety through public education, fire suppression, emergency medical services, and hazardous materials, and by developing and enforcing ordinances and fire codes. Currently, the fire department is comprised of 232 firefighters, 60 captains, and 10 chief officers within 17 buildings servicing 272,996 residents of Lincoln, Nebraska and surrounding areas.
Lincoln Fire & Rescue (LF&R) in Lincoln, Nebraska, offers an all hazards emergency response service including fire and emergency medical services with professional personnel on staff. Each member is sworn to protect the lives and property of all Lincoln city residents. The fire department promotes life safety through public education, fire suppression, emergency medical services, and hazardous materials, and by developing and enforcing ordinances and fire codes. Currently, the fire department is comprised of 232 firefighters, 60 captains, and 10 chief officers within 17 buildings servicing 272,996 residents of Lincoln, Nebraska and surrounding areas.
With life safety as the mission of Lincoln Fire & Rescue, ensuring timely and efficient rescues and firefighting is imperative and requires quick access to buildings. Nearly 5,000 fire departments nationwide use the Knox-Box system including L F & R for after-hours building access to investigate the possibility of a fire. The Knox-Box system provides a secure, rapid entry after-hours solution specifically developed for fire departments. The system consists of hardened steel boxes installed on the exterior of a building near the entrance that business owners use to store entrance keys, access cards and floor plans. A single master key is controlled by the local fire department, making it vital that these boxes are heavily protected, and access to these keys is secured and restricted. Department personnel developed a mobile application using the ISONAS system to secure this single master Knox Box key on specific apparatus.
Lincoln Fire & Rescue needed to secure all 17 facilities within the department from unauthorized visitors and prevent access to costly medical equipment, oxygen tanks, uniforms, and other expensive fire equipment. Specifically, LF&R wanted to secure facilities that contained multiple access points covering a large geographic area and find a solution that could expand with them as they grew. New fire houses built in the department would need to be seamlessly added to the main access control system; which posed another challenge. Most importantly, LF&R needed to keep their fire trucks safe and inaccessible and needed to safeguard the on-site master keys associated with the Knox Box system for numerous businesses in the community.
A total of 34 ISONAS PowerNet Reader-Controllers were installed throughout the department’s 17 facilities, and four additional readers were installed using wireless technology on the fire trucks. The ISONAS system was used with a vehicle inverter and modem to create a mobile security solution for the district’s Knox Box keys. The ISONAS card reader stores all of the entries remotely, and the ISONAS DB Crystal Windows-based software allows the fire district to monitor all access points in real-time and access reports for all activity throughout the facilities and fire trucks. authorized access at Lincoln Fire and Rescue
The ISONAS Pure IP access control system offered numerous advantages to Lincoln Fire & Rescue. Previously, the staff felt apprehensive about leaving behind costly fire equipment and protective apparel without a security system in place, now they have peace of mind. Also, due to department budget limitations, LF&R needed to find a cost-effective, reliable solution quickly. The ISONAS solution was the perfect choice providing an affordable system due to the fact that it is easier to install and operate and provides flexibility and scalability that meet an immediate need as well as future expansion demands. The ISONAS Pure IP access control system eliminates the need for a panel and only requires our all in one PowerNet Reader-Controller and a category 5 cable to provide power and a network connection; creating intelligent access control at the edge.