Emergency Vehicle Kit

You never know when you are going to be in or come upon an emergency situation.  For that reason it is important that you have a first aid/survival kit in your car and ready to go at all time...because you never know when you're going to need it.

The big question is often, what do I put in it?  Or, what should I have in my car?

• Seatbelt Cutter / Window Punch - These are sold separately and as a single unit.  Considering there is a great possibility of needing both for the same emergency, get the single unit!  Unlike the rest of your emergency kit, this item should not be kept in your trunk.  This item should be kept in the center console of your vehicle...where you can easily access it if you need to cut your own seatbelt to get out of your vehicle.

• Charged Cell-Phone - Generally, this item is kept on your person, not in your emergency bag.  However, it is important to make sure that it is well-charged, if not fully-charged, when you get in the car.  Battery life in your cell phone could mean the life or death difference of contacting 911 in an emergency.

• First Aid Kit - Your first aid kit should contain band-aids, gauze pads, adhesive tape, and antibacterial spray/ointment.  If you would stop to help a vehicle on the side of the road, you might also want to include a few pairs of latex gloves and a CPR mask so that you can safely provide assistance to others.

• Fire Extinguisher - The chance of using an extinguisher on your own vehicle is probably a little on the slim side.  But, it could happen.  Or you might need it for another person's vehicle.  Any extinguisher should be rated for Class B or Class C fires.  

• Flashlight - You should have a flashlight and extra batteries in your kit.  To ensure that your flashlight will work in various situations, it should be waterproof.

• Reflectors - To keep yourself safe while changing a tire or to keep others from crashing into an accident, you should set up triangle reflectors.  Safety officers recommend placing 3 triangles about 35-50 feet apart so that motorists have warning they are approaching an emergency prior to being on top of it...giving them time to slow down.

• Blanket - Although many people might only think to put a blanket in their personal winter emergency vehicle kit in case they got stuck on the side of the road, it can be useful during summer months as well.

These are must haves for any first responder to have in their personal vehicle in case they come upon an accident.  If you are looking to pack your personal emergency kit, you should also include a non-perishable food item (like protein bars), water, jumper cables, tire sealant, and a tire gauge.

The Newest In Search & Rescue

As any person in the emergency services field knows, time is always of the essence...especially in areas such as search and rescue.  Unfortunately, sometimes conditions are unsafe for rescuers to search for injured persons and sometimes it is physically impossible for rescuers (or search animals) to comb through wreckage to find the injured.  And when they are in need of emergency medical help, they don't have hours or days for someone to find them.

Because of this, a team of engineers at North Carolina State University have come up with a solution...and a very unlikely hero!  They have determined that cockroaches (yes, cockroaches) could have the ability to assist in the saving of many lives in rescue missions.

By outfitting the cockroach with a computer chip (much like a backpack) engineers are able to control the movement of the insect through electrical pulses via a computer.  Combine that with the ability to add a small camera and rescuers are able to quickly look through wreckage and rubble for survivors.  A small microphone can also be added to the chip, which would allow rescuers to communicate with survivors when they were found.

Doug Nakama of the San Diego Fire Department said, "Time is critical. The golden hour for victims is critical for the survivability rate.  The roaches could prove important if they can reach areas search dogs and cameras cannot."

To answer the question, "why cockroaches?"...the engineers determined that it was significantly more cost efficient to utilize the insects than it would be to attempt to build a robot that had the size and maneuverability of a cockroach.

Check out the following video to see these cockroaches in action...

Cyborg Cockroaches: The Future of Search and... by NewsyVideos

Does Your Department Need Facebook and Twitter?

Does your department need a Facebook and a Twitter account?  The answer is no; however, you might want one!

Excluding profile pages for babies, children, and pets, there are approximately 200 million Facebook accounts registered to persons within the United States.  Statistically, 50% of these users log in to Facebook at least daily.  Really, who do you know that doesn't have a Facebook account?  Although Twitter is not quite as popular, polls have shown that 18% of American's actively utilize a twitter account (both posting and following).

You are probably wondering how a department page would be beneficial to your organization.  Active Facebook users are a captive audience.  They routinely check their news feed to see what is going on with their friends, companies they like, and their local community.  Traditional news media (such as newspaper and television news casts) is no longer the primary means of obtaining information.  Many people are now obtaining their news (at least the initial reports) through Facebook and Twitter.  By having a department page, you can quickly and easily share information with a large portion of your community.

We can use the Virginia State Police as an example.  Recently a photograph of a southwest Virginia fugitive was posted on the department's Facebook page. A surprised Sergeant Geller said, "The phones lit up at the dispatch center."  All of this occurred within a few minutes of the post.  Leads were pouring in from the 27,000-plus people who follow the agency on Facebook.

It's not just beneficial to police departments either!  Prince George's County Fire & Emergency services in Maryland has been tweeting since 2006!  Their twitter page is PGFDPIO, and it reads mostly like an emergency scanner. They use Twitter and a blog to give updates quickly about incidents that would generate concern from the community, such as large fires or crashes on major roadways.

A growing number of departments are turning to social media to spread information and solicit tips.  Although the number of departments with a social media account of some kind has nearly doubled in the past couple of years, there are still a great deal of departments that do not have one.  Both Facebook and Twitter are easy to set up.  And both require a minimal amount of maintenance, primarily just posting information for your community as needed (which is determined by you).

To create a Facebook Account:

1. Determine who you would like to be your administrator (you can always change this or add additional administrators later).
2. Have your administrator sign in to their personal Facebook page.
3. Go to the Create A Page page of Facebook.
4. Select "Company, Organization or Institution".
5. Select "Government Organization" as your category type.
6. Insert your Police Department name as your company name.  If you live in a commonly named town, I recommend adding the state (ex: Middletown Police Department (NY) or Middeltown (NY) Police Department).
7. Agree to the Facebook pages terms and get started.
8. Add a profile picture and input the basic information about your department (location, non-emergency contact numbers, etc).

To create a Twitter Account::

1. Go to the home page of Twitter.
2. Set up a new account with your real name and email address (be sure not to use an email that you might use for a personal Twitter account as you can only register it one time).
3. Determine a name for your Twitter account.  There is a 15 character limit on user names, so you might need to get creative (such as previously mentioned Prince George's County Fire).
4. Create your account.

That's it, you're all set up.  Then, just start posting about police, fire, and emergency information regarding your community.  To get some ideas, check out a few of our favorites:

Facebook

• Keyport Police Department  
• Washington Township Police Department
• Sayreville Auxiliary Police

Twitter

• Milwaukee Police Department
• Baltimore Police Department
• Boston Police Department

Company Spotlight: Amerilert Communications

In 2004, a few technologies existed to offer notification services.  However, these services did not address the needs of a mobile society.  Previous systems were difficult to install and operate.  They were also fairly expensive.  Those early systems required additional hardware and software purchases to make the notifications work.  Those systems also required the assistance of IT staff within the organization to “integrate” it into existing systems.  Having so many parts and processes also made these services difficult to use.  Many potential customers were intimidated by all of these obstacles to success.

Today’s society is highly mobile and people spend most of their day in transit. How will your community read an email in time of emergencies? Email is not enough. How will people get a phone call in their house when they are out and about? Phone dialers are not enough.  It is currently estimated that nearly 91% of American's are cell phone carriers, this makes text messaging a very successful means of communication during an emergency.


The Amerilert service is specifically designed for large group communication. It is a 100% web-based system that enables administrators to instantly send messages to their subscribers for a fraction of the cost and complexity of existing notification services. There is no software to install and no hardware to buy. An organization can setup a secure notification system in minutes to send routine, urgent or emergency alerts to their entire community.

Amerilert can be used as an emergency notification system.  Keep your citizens informed and out of harm’s way. Whether you need to communicate weather warnings, road closures, Amber Alerts, or other emergencies.  Notifications can be sent out in a wide array of formats, to include text messages, desktop pop-ups, and email.


Amerilert First Responder is the leading text messaging-based dispatch and paging system for Fire Departments, Rescue Squads, and EMS.  This highly reliable service enables you and your crew to receive computer aided dispatches on a standard cell phone.  You can configure Amerilert First Responder to automatically dispatch pages from the 911 center or dispatch center to standard cell phones and pagers of first responders.  Fire station or rescue squad can dispatch their own messages from the Amerilert interface to the desired groups.  The system can be configured to dispatch alerts to everyone or to specific groups on an alert-by-alert basis.

Amerilert does live demonstrations to show the ease of use and cost-effectiveness of their alert programs.  You can request a free demonstration via their website.

Company Spotlight: OnSpot Automatic Tire Chains

With snowy winter days quickly approaching, OnSpot Automatic Tire Chains really caught my interest.

What Are OnSpot Automatic Tire Chains?
Unlike traditional tire chains that are wrapped around the tires when snowy weather is coming (or after it has arrived), OnSpot Automatic Tire Chains are always ready to go.  They are permanently mounted on the vehicle (making you always prepared for inclement weather).  OnSpot chains last longer as they are only used when needed, and there is no likelihood of wheel-well damage from broken chains.  OnSpot chains are also D.O.T. approved in all fifty states (included chain controlled mountainous areas in Colorado and California).

How Do OnSpot Automatic Tire Chains work?
The OnSpot Automatic Tire chain offers the traction of a single set of conventional snow chains at the flip of a switch, without having to stop the vehicle.  An electric switch mounted in the cab provides 12 volts to an air solenoid mounted on the vehicle's frame rail. Compressed air to the solenoid is supplied from either the vehicle's on-board air system or a 12-volt compressed air kit.  When the dashboard switch is activated, the solenoid opens allowing compressed air to enter the air chamber and lower the chain wheel so it contacts the inside of the tire. The friction between the tire and the rubber-covered chain wheel causes the chainwheel to rotate, creating enough centrifugal force to flail the chains out in front of the tire. Six lengths of chain spaced at 60-degree intervals on the chain wheel ensure that there are always two chains between the tire and road surface whether you are accelerating, braking or are in a wheel lockup condition. The traction from the chain wheel is obtained in forward or reverse.  When the dashboard switch is turned off, the solenoid exhausts the air provided to the chain units and return springs in the air chambers bring the chain wheels back to their resting position.


What Are The Applications For OnSpot Automatic Tire Chains?
Applications are virtually limitless.  They can be mounted on delivery, construction, or emergency services vehicles.  They would be particularly beneficial to emergency services vehicles, as emergency responders don't have the option to wait for inclement weather to pass before they are required to travel on the road.  Having adequate traction on icy roads could actually be the determining factor in a life or death situation.

Company Spotlight: ECM2 (Emergency Call Manager)

We recently met a pretty amazing technology company, ECM2.  They specialize in smart phone apps for emergency responders.  ECM2 was founded in March of 2010. ECM2's top priority and mission, is to bring cutting-edge communication products to the marketplace assisting emergency responders in becoming increasingly expeditious and efficient in their work. ECM2's product line continues to shine above the competition. Each product that is delivered to the marketplace is incredibly user friendly and fully functional with features the other companies just don't have. They're not only committed to being the best, but also in becoming a leader in cutting-edge emergency responding communications as well as integrating this technology to work with the latest craze of Smart Phone users as apps on their devices.

One of our goals as a company is that our products become the "industry standard" in emergency communications. The products are easy-to-use and highly efficient. Where time is of the essence, especially responders in an emergency situation... let’s face it, every second counts!  Product software includes:

• Cellphones and Email: Get your alert calls in seconds and have the ability to respond
• Data Integrator: Import your incident data, edit data and upload incidents to your incident tracking software
• Mobile Map: Display an incident location, locate fire hydrants, SARA facilities and other relevant locations on a map, turn by turn directions, and have the ability to edit Pre-Plan Data to insure firefighter safety
• StationManager:Display CURRENT incident and ALL incidents, track Equipment and Apparatus, Personnel Acountablity, On-Scene management, Incident Time management, Incident Mapping, Locations of interest such as Schools, Nursing Homes, EMS stations and other important places, and many more features
• Incident Print: Retrieve incident data and print it in Real-Time

There are currently several products available.  They include Data Integrator, 911 Emergency Call Manager, Station Manager, Mobile Map, and Incident Print.  Apps can be downloaded free of charge to any registered user of the software.  For more information on the company and products, please contact ECM2 directly.

eDarley Sweepstakes

W.S. Darley is a 100 year old family owned and operated company that specializes in products for fire and emergency services.  W. S. Darley & Co.'s involvement in the Fire Industry spans over a century and four generations of Darleys. They not only have a rock solid reputation for building quality products, but also for building strong relationships with Fire Fighting Organizations around the world.  Nowhere else will you find a company as dedicated to the Fire Industry. All this experience comes from a company that cares - W. S. Darley & Co. is customer driven.  The entire company is committed to customer satisfaction.  They pride themselves on the fact that even after 100 years in business you can still call and talk to them on the phone.

They offer thousands of products through their various catalogs and eDarley.com.  Darley builds Fire Trucks, manufactures Champion Fire Pumps and sells Fire Fighting and Emergency Equipment.  They offer everything from pumps, apparatus, pump systems, AutoCAFS, Odin Foam, and Ohler Pumps to on-site response equipment such as first aid gear, flashlights, hazmat, and other rescue tools.

They are currently running a sweepstakes on their eDarley Facebook page.  The contest is running through December 13, 2011.  By signing up on their Facebook page you can enter win a $250.00 gift card to be used towards the purchase of equipment from their company.

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