|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
After recently being nominated for a Webby, an award for Internet excellence, San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District is set to release an iPhone application. It would be the first of its kind for a fire department, according to the district.
After nearly a year of development, the application will allow iPhone users to have real-time access to emergency activities occurring the community. According to the SRVFPD, users will be able to view active incidents, including the response status of emergency vehicles being dispatched to the call, as well as map the incidents on an interactive map.
The application will also be used to communicate with its nearly 700 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members and to share information during disasters with citizens of the district.
While no specific release date or name has been announced yet, it is said the application will be available for free on iTunes by this summer.
“The Fire District will use our new iPhone application to communicate with residents and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members during a disaster,” Fire Chief Richard Price said. “We are dedicated to keeping our community informed and I am very excited about adding this new tool to the many ways we are communicating with our residents.”
For more information on the fire department’s iphone, visit www.firedepartment.org/iphone.
In addition to the iPhone application,
Firedepartment.org — the website of the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District — is one of five government sites in the world to receive a Webby nomination, an award touted as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times.
Nominations were announced Tuesday morning in New York City, and Fire Chief Richard Price is said to be proud of the nomination.
“For firedepartment.org to be nominated in the same category as websites for the U.S. Census Bureau, NASA and the U.S. Air Force is quite an accomplishment for our District,” he said. “We are honored by this recognition.”
As the fire department waits for the results of the awards, fans of the website can vote for it in the Webby People’s Voice Award by visiting http://webby.aol.com/society/government. Registration is required to vote.
San Ramon residents are also to be thanked in part for the honor, as the website was launched April 1, 2009 to meet the needs found in a community-based survey. Requests included real-time 911 dispatch center activity, live emergency radio traffic, vibrant photo and video galleries, an interactive kids corner, and helpful tools and information for local businesses and residents.
Firedepartment.org also has features including zooming in on live incidents by controlling video cameras mounted on ridge top communication towers and news and incident alerts via Twitter.
The Webby Awards honors online excellence, and is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, R/GA’s Chief Bob Greenberg, “Simpson’s” creator Matt Groening, Arianna Huffington and Harvey Weinstein. This year the Academy received a total of 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby has been awarded to such notable organizations as Amazon.com, eBay, Yahoo! and Google.
— Emily West
— Emily West
It wouyld be helpful if the name of the “app” had been included in the story.
The information is expected to be released today. I’ll put it up online as soon as I know.