Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid's online dispatch feed discontinued for foreseeable future

LACONIA — Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Association has discontinued the use of its public-facing live Computer Aided Dispatch, or CAD, website, according to a Facebook post Monday.

The website displayed outgoing emergency calls, as well as the approximate location of and type of incident.

The tool was used extensively by those keeping track of emergency calls, such as news media, those working in emergency services, and those with family members who are first responders.

“Having my son on the fire department, it was just being a mother,” said Janet Johnston, whose son serves as a firefighter in Franklin and Sanbornton. “It’s good to be able to look and see if there was a big fire happening when he was on duty, or if there is a certain area that should be avoided.”

Johnston was just one of nearly two dozen people who left comments on LRMFA’s post.

“The number of people that have posted, emailed and asked, it actually surprised me,” said Deputy Chief Coordinator Paul Steele of LRMFA. “The public in general that listen to us online on scanners love the ability to pull it up.”

According to the Facebook post, the live CAD was not initially intended for public consumption, but after the link got out, LRMFA kept it live because “the public enjoyed it.”

Steele said the CAD tracking software is no longer supported by the current software vendor. LRMFA, which serves 35 communities through its communications center, is in the process of deploying new software.

“Due to bugs and ongoing problems, the online version has been taken down,” Steele explained, adding that LRMFA is switching to Tyler Technologies for their software needs. “The software we’re going to use today does not have that feature, but we’ve expressed a fair amount of interest to the vendor.”

Tyler Technologies confirmed its partnership with LRMFA in an email to The Sun, but stated its services were not live yet, and “these products would not allow for the public to view active calls.”

Steele said that for now, there is no timeframe for when or even if the public’s ability to view live calls will return. For now, members of the public will have to rely on traditional radio scanners or on the LRMFA website, lrmfa.org, which features a digital livestream scanner.

“I still have my scanner, I can listen, but I don't have it with me all the time and I don't have it on all the time,” Johnston said. “If we're out somewhere and sirens fly by, it was always nice to look at CAD and see what was going on. It didn't give a lot of details, but it was a good reference for anyone when something was going on.”