Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 24, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
To ensure absolutely fail-safe emergency communications both during high-profile events and on a permanent basis, Vancouver-based Applied Electronics Limited has installed an impressive system for the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Vancouver’s E-Comm building, which also uses Christie display solutions.
The EOC in Vancouver coordinates emergency-response teams from the police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), fire department, ambulance service, traffic control, urban planning service, health authorities and others. City employees and trained volunteers work at the centre. All types of emergency calls are received here and instructions are passed on to callers in emergency situations. This hub, staffed around the clock, is extremely important for visitors, athletes and spectators, as well as for Vancouver residents.
Equipped with Christie HD405 1-chip DLP HD projectors and a Christie TVC-1210 controller, the EOC has an approximately 11-metre-wide display wall with a resolution of 3840 x 1080 pixels. It is used to display emergency maps, connect with emergency centres, show television coverage and present the news ticker.
Kevin Stewart of Applied Electronics in Calgary, who had already worked with the City of Vancouver for several years to develop a unique solution tailored to its needs, also designed the Christie system at E-Comm. The installation is monitored locally by account manager Stephen Monteith from the Applied Electronics office in Burnaby. It was completed last year and has been in operation ever since.
“Given the undeniable need for such a system, operating around the clock, to run reliably and continuously, we turned to Christie to provide us with the robust display technology we needed for the Vancouver EOC,” said Monteith. “Christie supplies durable, reliable products for control-room applications, and we have already completed many successful, mission-critical projects with Christie. It was therefore only natural that we would use their solutions for this type of emergency operations centre as well.”
