Brea, Calif. - The outside world often overlooks the importance of incident support roles and incident communications management. Those fighting on the front line need these functions—which provide 2-way radio, high-speed Internet, VoIP and telephone services, and other administrative functions—in order to get their job done safely and efficiently.
Cross Connections, a communication services provider to Incident Management Teams for federal, state and local governments has worked with a wide variety of organizations to provide said services. Ranging from mobile command units and communication trailers at major events to portable radios for prison security, Cross Connections is most notable for their work with wildfire teams—providing their services on 11 major wild land fires so far this year, along with some of the largest wild land fires in California history (including the Rim Fire of 2013 and Cedar Fire of 2003, the largest in California’s history).
Support personnel—those providing the administrative and communication functions—have become the “early adopters” of radio technology that meets the needs of their on-the-line counterparts…even though some of these devices work outside the traditional list of fire line approved radios. However, both support and fire fighter groups have come to realize the added value of dual-band radio technology, specifically the convenience of the Powerwerx KG-UV6X and DB-750X dual-band radios outfitted with Pryme’s WXRSM Heavy Duty Waterproof Speaker Mic.
What makes these radios more convenient as opposed to some of their fire line approved counterparts? Support personnel often find themselves communicating on both VHF and UHF frequency bands—meaning they would have to carry around two different radios. This cumbersome requirement is thus eliminated with radios that operate on both bands—enhancing portability and bringing convenience to the forefront of their radio communications.
Further enhancing dependability and usefulness of these radios is the Pryme WXRSM Heavy Duty Waterproof Speaker Mic. The WXRSM is extremely durable, yet sleek enough to wear on multiple locations on the uniform. Small, yet noticeable features such as the transmit button and audio jack placement truly make all the difference, and are deliberate modifications born via customer feedback.
“The cool thing about the Pryme mic is that the transmit button wraps all the way around up to the top. I’ve had guys come back and tell me that they didn’t even realize that was a feature when they ordered, and now it’s a feature they’ve really come to appreciate,” continued Dennis Cross, President of CrossConnections, “They can literally just grab the mic and find the transmit button—it’s foolproof; you never miss, you don’t have to think about it, you just grab, press and you’re hitting it on either the top or side.”
A price tag of under $40 also makes the WXRSM attractive, even to the fire line workers who by NIFC requirement, must bring fire line approved radios with them in the field.
“They have been proven to be very durable and reliable radios by several different police and fire agencies,” Dennis Cross stated, “Currently, it seems to be the radio of choice by firefighters, team members, and security forces that support fire operations on large scale incidents.”
All Incident Management Team personnel face the reality that they will need to communicate on two different frequency bands on most of their missions. Purchasing a dual-band radio is a convenient solution that satisfies this requirement at a fraction of the cost—not to mention the convenience one radio provides as opposed to two.
About Pryme
For over 23 years PRYME Radio Products has been a leading manufacturer of high quality products to professional users of two-way radios. PRYME is devoted to the professional two-way radio industry with a passion to create a better means of communication and a higher standard of reliability and comfort.