Lealman is looking at a system used by other Pinellas towns for safer intersection crossings in fire emergencies.
By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published June 9, 2004
LEALMAN - Fire commissioners may buy a device that allows approaching fire trucks to change traffic signals from a distance.
Several Pinellas cities already have Opticom systems in place, which enable firefighters to travel main roads without worrying about red lights or collisions at intersections.
The technology would cost about $115,700, and commissioners of the Lealman Special Fire Control District don't yet know how they would come up with the money. But all attending Monday's workshop expressed interest.
Chief Richard Graham said he watched as Pinellas Park, Seminole and Palm Harbor got their systems installed.
"I didn't want to be the test case for the Opticom," Graham said. "But I think they've got the bugs worked out."
Graham contends the district has little choice but to acquire the system. Firefighters often avoid main roads because of traffic lights, he said. But in recent years speed bumps and other traffic-calming devices have removed the option of cutting through side streets.
Enter Opticom, the brand name Pinellas officials are recommending that all cities use for the sake of consistency.
The system sends signals from a transmitter on the approaching fire truck to a receiver connected to the traffic light. The communication begins when the truck is within 2,500 feet of the light.
Opticom will make sure the light is green when the fire truck reaches the intersection and red for the side streets.
In the event two fire vehicles are approaching the same intersection from different directions, Opticom will reserve the green for the first vehicle, then immediately accommodate the second, Graham said.
In recent years, several north Pinellas cities have begun installing and using Opticom, including Clearwater, Largo, Tarpon Springs and Dunedin.
Ten of the 20 Lealman intersections targeted for the system involve 54th Avenue N, from Haines Road to Park Street. Six more would cover 46th Avenue N between 49th and Park streets.
At $4,600 for equipment at each four-way intersection (intersections with fewer directions cost less) and $1,700 for the county to install, the total cost climbs as high as $126,000, if all intersections were outfitted as four-ways.
Commissioners appeared to like Opticom but showed restraint. Chairman Michael Brophy mused about the possibility of getting state or federal highway funds to help pay for the system.
The commission asked Graham to get an Opticom representative to address them at a future workshop.
"We are in the process of contemplating doing this," Commissioner Linda Campbell said. "We just don't know when right now."
The first time the commission could vote on the system is June 21.
