By this time next year, firefighters won’t need to remember where the closest hydrant is to a fire, because they’ll be able to see a map of connections on their computer.

Police officers won’t need to wait until they get back to the station to write up reports  they’ll be able to key them directly into the system through data ports in their cars.

And emergency officials won’t need to write down a description of a missing child while racing down the street. That’s because dispatchers will be able to send them an electronic picture instead.

The benefits of a new mobile data system will so far outweigh the costs that emergency officials can’t wait to get the system powered up.

“It’s the most dramatic change in law enforcement communications since the two-way radio came out in the ’40s or ’50s,” said Rick Trapp, Douglas County sheriff.

Trapp and a consortium of emergency officials took a big step toward their goal Monday morning, as Douglas County commissioners agreed to accept the state’s help in buying a mobile-data communications system.

The system’s backbone  a central computer and software to connect with the existing dispatch center  will be installed by the end of next year and boost efficiency and performance of emergency services, Trapp said. The project also will include mobile computers and wireless radios for 16 sheriff’s patrol cars.

After taking advantage of a state grant, the county’s share of the $424,612 bill will be $106,153. Other departments  including Baldwin, Eudora and Lawrence police, Douglas County Fire & Medical and several township fire departments  would be able to connect with the county’s system once they buy equipment for their vehicles.

The county will finance its share of the project using money from the county’s 911 fund, dedicated for upgrading emergency-communications systems. The money comes from a fee charged on customers’ monthly telephone bills.

“Everything we do is to enhance public safety,” Trapp said. “This enhances and complements the existing communications systems we have.”

A county board that oversees the 911 fund formed a special committee to recommend a system. The group’s members  sheriff’s Lt. Steve Rector; Jim Denney, emergency communications director; Battalion Chief Bill Stark, of fire and medical; Liz Phillips, assistant director of Kansas University Public Safety; and Lt. Steve Zamowiec, of Lawrence police  said the project would boost effectiveness on the street and save plenty of time writing reports.

Among the group’s expectations for the system:

l Each law-enforcement officer should save about 2.5 hours per shift.

l The county’s fire and medical department expects to shave 30 minutes of work from each of the average 24 calls it receives each day.

“In these times of extremely tight budgets, it’s important that we maximize our personnel resources,” Trapp said. “If we save time in the station, we can keep them out on the street.”