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Extendobed - Get More Storage Out Of Your Vehicle!

Extendobed has be designing and distributing products to business and law enforcement professionals for over 25 years.  Their custom designs are suitable for all different types of professionals.  However, their primary market is fire departments and law enforcement agencies.

Extendobed is the original manufacturer of the expandable truck bed liner.  Extendo Bed is a truck bed extender that will carry a full cargo load over 1200 pounds & extend 100% beyond the length of the truck bed or SUV cargo area. These patented truck bed drawers are ideal for fire and police departments as a command center and emergency or first response, contractors, the military, farriers, or anyone else who needs easy access to their truck bed and tools.

Each bed extender is also extremely rugged and durable.  Not only are they built to withstand a great deal of weight and cargo, they are durable enough to withstand every use and abuse.  Extendobed actually boasts that many of their units, including the first one built in 1987, are still in service today.  Now, that says a lot about the durability and life expectancy of one of  these units!

Extendobeds come pre-designed for command centers, search and rescue, SWAT, equipment storage, crime scene, or they can even be custom designed.

Check out an Extendobed in action!

Extendo Bed Time Lape from Chris Ennis on Vimeo.

The Cost of Fire...and How to Bring it Down!

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the cost of fire fighting has gone up monumentally over the course of the last thirty years.  Even with numbers being adjusted for general inflation, the cost of fire is 38% higher in 2010 than it was in 1980.

It is estimated that fire costs about $328 billion per year.  That number covers everything from economic loss (such as property damage), to human loss (such as loss of life, medical care, or pain and suffering), to the actual cost of preventing fire (such as fire departments and equipment).  A significant bulk of the costs stem from prevention.

That should leave every fire department questioning what they can do to help their department save money.  So, how can you save money?  And how can you help other departments save money too?

Turnouts
Companies like Fire Dog Services deal in donated turnout gear.  Working with a company like this allows you to acquire newer gear for your department, keeping you up to date with safety regulations, even if you don't quite have the funding to do so.  Donating your older gear to Fire Dog Services can greatly impact the budget of smaller less funded departments!

Fire Equipment
Any fire department will tell you that one of their biggest expenses is their trucks and pumpers.  New vehicles are expensive, but frequent repairs on aging vehicles isn't always much cheaper.  As an alternative to buying a brand new truck, look at a company like Adirondack Fire Equipment.  They buy and sell well-conditioned used emergency service vehicles.  You can assist in the funding of your new vehicle by selling your old one, or upgrade to a newer vehicle by purchasing used.

Technology
When it comes to buying rugged computer equipment most departments deal with a moment of sticker-shock.  By looking to purchase refurbished Panasonic Toughbooks, you can essentially outfit your entire fleet for the cost of purchasing one new unit.

Grants
One of the most underused forms of funding purchases for emergency service agencies is grant funding.  Grants are essentially free funding to assist smaller, financially needy departments with the ability to get the newer equipment that they so desperately need.  And grants are available for practically everything....training, tools, apparatus, turnouts, hoses, and the list goes on-and-on.  Grant writing services are even available for those who aren't quite sure if they can properly write up a grant!

Rugged Keyboards from Man & Machine

Many departments prefer to mount Panasonic Toughbook CF-19's in their vehicles.  The reasoning behind it is relatively simple.  They are small, lightweight, fast, rugged, portable, and don't require a great deal of space.  However, a common complaint with many officers is the keyboard size on the CF-19.  Because it is a tablet unit, the keyboard on it is significantly smaller than standard-sized laptop keyboard.  Many departments mount the CF-19 as a tablet and then utilize a separate keyboard.


The issue that then arises is finding a keyboard that is going to stand up to the abuse that it will most likely receive in the vehicle.  There are the temperature fluctuations, the possible food/drink spills, and most importantly finding something that will easily work with the existing equipment in the vehicle.


That is where the So Cool keyboard by Man & Machine comes in!  Rugged, tough and built to take whatever the road dishes out.  So Cool is rattle-free, easy-to-clean and dependable as the day is long. 

You get advanced technology with multi-level backlight and great tactile feedback for a die-hard trooper you'll be proud to ride with.  The So Cool is a solid piece of silicone, meaning it is food/drink proof and has no parts to break.  It easily attaches to all major mounting systems, meaning it is an easy addition to the equipment you presently have in your vehicle.  This keyboard is a perfect in-vehicle solution for police, fire, and EMS vehicles.

This product is brand new and is releasing soon to the public safety sector.  You can follow Man & Machine on Facebook to stay up to date on when this product releases.

Need To Add GPS To Your Computer?

Technology seems to advance at a rate faster than we can keep up with it.  It seems like just yesterday that computers/laptops started to come with built-in wireless cards, allowing you to be connected to the internet at home or work.  Next was Bluetooth, allowing you to sync multiple Bluetooth devices.  Then along came broadband cards, allowing you to be connected to the internet anywhere.  More recently, they have started to come with the option of having GPS installed, allowing you to fully utilize mapping software while on the go.

Being able to have GPS built into your MDT (mobile data terminal) is a great option for first responders, as it decreases the number of technological tools users need to utilize in a response.  But, what do you do if you have older MDT's or Panasonic Toughbooks that didn't come equipped with GPS?  You can add it on!  By utilizing a Garmin USB GPS Receiver and Garmin MapSource Software, you can add GPS to any laptop running Windows XP (or newer) that is connected to the broadband.

The Garmin USB GPS units are an OEM, high-sensitivity GPS sensor for use in automotive, fleet vehicle, and electronics applications that require a small, highly accurate GPS receiver.  This high-sensitivity, puck-like receiver is 2.4" in diameter and weighs just a few ounces, making it an ideal solution for applications where space is at a premium such as in first responder vehicles.

The features of the Garmin USB GPS include:

• Automatically tracks multiple satellites for fast, accurate positioning
• Position errors of less than three meters
• Compact and rugged design
• 10-day battery life
• Waterproof design

This option eliminates the need to replacing your MDTs/Toughbooks for ones with a GPS.