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(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indy first responders have a new 35-million-dollar dispatch system they say will help them protect you better.

Instead of coordinating two separate databases, Police Chief Bryan Roach says the new dispatch computers sync them up, allowing dispatchers to get information to an officer while he’s still on his way, giving him the history of the location and people involved and allowing him to know which leads to pursue.

For firefighters, the old system carved Marion County into zones, and would send a general call to fire engines in the same area as a fire. Fire Chief Ernest Malone says the new system is more precise, pinpointing which unit is closest to the fire, and filtering by which unit has the appropriate equipment for a particular call.

Firefighters have also adopted new firefighter-specific radios with larger buttons and bright colors, so firefighters can use them more easily in the blinding smoke of a fire.

The City-County Council approved the money to replace the old system in August. The upgrade went online two weeks ago.

(Photo: Indianapolis Fire Department)