The City of Tonkawa recently installed an automatic transfer switch on the Police Department building. This switch replaced an old and failing manual switch that transferred power from utility line power to backup generator power in the event of a power outage. The old switch required Firefighters to run over to the Police Department building and manually operate the switch, usually in severe weather such as lightning and hail. The new switch will detect when there is a loss of utility power and automatically start the backup generator and switch power, then automatically switch back when utility power is restored. This will allow Firefighters to continue their duties when there is a power outage. The generator and switch powers all of the Police and Fire Departments and the Council Room and City Manager office area. This includes critical systems such as the E911 system, Dispatch system, telephones, networking systems, inmate housing and paging systems for emergency services. The switch project also provided the opportunity to replace some failing utility feeds and clean up points of connection on the building. The City emergency services will now be able to operate more effectively during a power failure situation, which usually happens during severe weather conditions, a time when city services are the busiest.
...
