By Brandy A. Lee
Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
Copyright 2006 The Deseret News Publishing Co.
A national nonprofit organization has unveiled a Web site that allows residents access to up-to-date local public-safety news and information.
All of the information is state-specific with the help of Google. Visitors to the site will also be able to type in their ZIP code and find the nearest fire station.
“It took a number of weeks (to compile it),” said Steven Jones, executive director of the First Response Coalition. “It will continue to expand and grow.”
The FRC was initially formed to educate the public on the needs of first responders. It also focuses on communication.
Locally, many groups are grateful for the effort but are also making efforts to make the site more public-friendly.
The Unified Fire Authority is in the process of redoing its Web site.
“Locations of local fire stations is something that will be integrated into the new Web site,” said Jay Torgerson, public information officer for UFA.
One of the glitches he found with the national Web site was that not all of the fire stations came up.
“It’s something that is good information,” he said. “But the thing that is important to the citizens is that when they dial 911, the nearest fire station responds.”
Another thing that UFA is trying to integrate, which the FRC Web site only scratches on the surface, is that people know who law enforcement organizations are in their area.
Firefighters don’t look at the fire stations as theirs but as a place where citizens can come and learn, Torgerson said.
Stations work to teach about safety, conduct tours and visit with those who stop by.
“We like to have a good relationship with the citizens we serve,” Torgerson said.
Mike Veenendaal, former interim director for Salt Lake Valley Communications Center, didn’t see anything he disagreed with.
“It looked like it had some good information,” he said. “I think that anytime you have more information on how to better do your job (it is good.)”
Utah has been working on many of the communication issues FRC addresses on its Web site, Veenendaal said.
Jones points out that 120 firefighters died as a direct result of communications failures during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“The firefighters never received the order to evacuate the buildings,” he said.
Utah is now on an 800-Megahertz system and will be able to communicate better among dispatch centers, Veenendaal said.
Through a grant, VECC is upgrading its phone systems. In phase two of that grant, the dispatch center will be able to pinpoint a cell phone caller.
“This (the FRC Web site) is information that can be valued to push some things along,” Veenendaal said.