Outfitting Neshannock’s Firefighters with Equipment for the Future

The leadership of our fire company has always strived to provide our firefighters with the most up to date and advanced tools to keep themselves and our citizens safe.  This past year has been no different as we have made upgrades in several key areas.

Earlier this year, we completed the installation of an exhaust removal system at both of our fire stations.  As we reported last year, this was provided through the award of a Federal Annual Assistance to Firefighters Grant for Firefighter Safety.  This system removes the cancerous effects of toxic emissions from our apparatus exhaust into the fire stations.

We also recently procured mobile data devices (tablets) that are connected to the First Responder Network Authority of the United States (FirstNet) that was created under the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.  This technology enables our first responders to have immediate access to important data about hazardous materials, building floor plans, and incident and contact information during an emergency.  Since these tablets operate on FirstNet, they are also designed to be given priority in the event that the commercial cellular networks are inundated due to large scale or natural disasters.

The emergency response system that we are a part of is constantly adapting to advances in technology regarding how you, the general public, reach us in an emergency.  For instance, Neshannock residents and visitors can access 9-1-1 via text message.  While we always encourage our citizens to call 9-1-1 for any emergency, we understand there are times when that is not possible.  We fully endorse the concept of “9-1-1 – Call when you can; text if you can’t.”

Many homes no longer have a hardwired land line and rely on mobile phones to make and receive all calls.  Is your mobile phone in a convenient place where you can reach it immediately to report an emergency?  Is your phone charged and ready to complete a call in an emergency?  Do you have emergency numbers stored in your cell phone?  Do you have emergency numbers and contacts programed into phones of children and elderly family members?  If not, please take the time to properly educate all users on the proper way to summon help on a cell phone and equip the cell phone with emergency contact information.

One of the ways that helps us to help you during a disaster is for you to be informed of severe weather or disaster events before or as they are occurring.  The Lawrence County Department of Public Safety offers a Code RED system for emergency notifications to our residents.  We encourage our residents to enroll in this system at https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BF8B7779C014.  This system allows residents and businesses to add or update their contact information to ensure they will be included when a message is sent regarding an emergency in your area.