FDNY and PANYNJ expand Knightscope emergency communication contracts

Knightscope, Inc. today announces that the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) renewed its service agreement for their K1 Call Boxes, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) added a Full Service Maintenance Plan (FSMP) to cover the 8 K1 Call Boxes on the George Washington Bridge.

Knightscope brought K1 emergency call boxes that provide highly recognizable points to establish reliable, one-touch communication with FDNY and the Port Authority. Emergency communications are always available and are particularly helpful when cell phone service is scarce or a device’s battery has died, and they provide the exact location of the device being used so that emergency services may be quickly dispatched. By contrast, emergency dispatch professionals are unable to pinpoint people using their personal cellular devices to contact 911 because GPS data is not transmitted through the system.

A life-saving event on the George Washington Bridge reported earlier this year encouraged further investment into the program, and FSMP will provide the Port Authority with operational confidence in the system backed up by service maintenance support and software that FDNY already enjoys. By enacting these operational failsafes, community leaders are ensuring access to multiple portals needed to alert the appropriate authorities in times of danger, personal crisis, or medical emergencies.