What Happened?
The Pryor Creek fire department in Oklahoma will be using communication technology to reach firefighters across different platforms and devices. The program will send fire-related pages straight to firefighter smartphones, computers and tablets instantly for faster notifications and response times.
Goal
The Board of County Commissioners near Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, recently approved the purchase of the Active911 messaging program. Firefighters in Pryor Creek will not have instant notifications sent directly to their smartphones, computers and tablets whenever a call is made to the fire department and a response is needed, The Times reported.
Every device connected to the Active911 system will cost the local fire department $10, along with a baseline cost that will be divided between 13 participating departments in the county. The overall goal of the technology investment is to reduce response times to emergency calls while leveraging mobile devices to keep all firefighters connected through message notifications, The Times reported.
How It Works
The Active911 system will send a message to all registered devices within 30 seconds of a page through a unique email address. On the screen of each device there will be an option for the recipient to acknowledge receipt of the message indicating he or she is able to respond to the page.
The department can track all messages sent out and responses to see how many fire fighters are available and en route to attend to the emergency. Firefighters receive information in the message notifications with details on the type of incident and how best to respond. The Active911 program also enables users to access Google maps to navigate the faster route to the location of the emergency, The Times reported.
Tampa Tech
Tampa Fire Rescue in Florida recently applied for a state grant to help pay for new medical technology to improve the success of its emergency medical services. The Zoll Critical Care Monitors are an upgrade to traditional cardiac defibrillators, and the department was able to receive the devices at a 30 percent discount at $26,789 per unit, My Fox Tampa Bay reported.
The monitors alert emergency responders to key patient vitals and transmits this data to hospitals directly while in the field. Using WiFi instead of Bluetooth creates a faster connection so information is gathered and shared quicker and more efficiently – which improves patient care and outcomes. The monitors were deployed in all 14 rescue cars and three Tampa Fire Rescue engines. By 2015, 10 more devices will be added to fire engines, My Fox Tampa Bay reported.
Similarly, the Tiverton fire department in Rhode Island now uses a camera laryngoscope that guides emergency responders looking to place a breathing tube in patients who have stopped breathing. The device shows where the tube should be placed to get air in patient lungs faster while avoiding improper placement of the tube that could cause further harm. The $3,000 devices significantly reduce the amount of time a patient is not receiving air, while increasing emergency responder efficiency on the way to hospitals.
Small Tech, Big Results
Gov1 has reported on a wide variety of new technologies aiding police, fire and emergency teams in increasing community safety.