We all know about the San Ramon Valley Fire Department's revolutionary citizen dispatching system for cardiac arrests, or iphone CPR app called "Fire Department."
What we didn't know until the cameras started rolling at Station 7 yesterday was that the San Francisco Fire Department will also be joining in releasing the Fire Department app (firedepartment.mobi) to assist in getting bystander CPR on scene quicker.
I had the opportunity to speak with Chief Price from San Ramon Valley Fire after a brief presentation about the app and it's history at a recent EMS Committee meeting far outside San Francisco. The inspiration was perfect.
Out to lunch one afternoon with his IT folks, Chief Price heard, then saw an engine company roll up lights and sirens. When he arose to see what was happening, he learned that literally inches away from him, in the store that shared a wall with his, was an SCA victim. he has an AED in his company car. He has a BVM in the car as well, yet there was no notification, no person running from store to store looking for help.
We now know that the sooner we can start compressions the better, but 4 minutes to code the call, send it out and respond is 4 minutes too long.
The Fire Department app may be poorly named (CPR app was already taken) but it also expands and allows local agencies to activate persons of specific experience and training, not by keeping a phone tree (sooooo 2008) but simply sending out a text that activates an app that tells your new citizen rescuers where to go and what to do.
Any department looking for community outreach and increasing SCA survival should really be looking into developing this. The code is available, just contact them.
If you're the social media person in your department, download the app and take it into the Chief's office and show them. I haven't made my appointment to go show it to Chief Hayes-White and now I know I don't have too. I WILL however give credit for this to Thaddeus Setla and Mark Glencorse who sat down in her office in November of 2009 and spoke about the power of social media, twitter, facebook and building a community using mobile technology. They may have just planted the seed that grew into what could be an amazing opportunity to mobilize a silent partner, the public.
You'd think this is the kind of thing the Department would ask social media folks about ahead of time. Like those that work there? I'll be submitting memo after memo trying to get on the team that steers this app. Why the district attorney is involved is beyond me, I'll see if I can find out. EDIT - Just got an email from the DA's office. THEY were the ones that saw the potential and took it to the Chief's office and that is why the DA is present.
If you are still entirely unsure what I'm talking about, visit this site for more info on the app, San Ramon Valley CA and keep a lookout for updates on when your service could begin dispatching citizens to start CPR before your rigs are even in drive.
What we didn't know until the cameras started rolling at Station 7 yesterday was that the San Francisco Fire Department will also be joining in releasing the Fire Department app (firedepartment.mobi) to assist in getting bystander CPR on scene quicker.
I had the opportunity to speak with Chief Price from San Ramon Valley Fire after a brief presentation about the app and it's history at a recent EMS Committee meeting far outside San Francisco. The inspiration was perfect.
Out to lunch one afternoon with his IT folks, Chief Price heard, then saw an engine company roll up lights and sirens. When he arose to see what was happening, he learned that literally inches away from him, in the store that shared a wall with his, was an SCA victim. he has an AED in his company car. He has a BVM in the car as well, yet there was no notification, no person running from store to store looking for help.
We now know that the sooner we can start compressions the better, but 4 minutes to code the call, send it out and respond is 4 minutes too long.
The Fire Department app may be poorly named (CPR app was already taken) but it also expands and allows local agencies to activate persons of specific experience and training, not by keeping a phone tree (sooooo 2008) but simply sending out a text that activates an app that tells your new citizen rescuers where to go and what to do.
Any department looking for community outreach and increasing SCA survival should really be looking into developing this. The code is available, just contact them.
If you're the social media person in your department, download the app and take it into the Chief's office and show them. I haven't made my appointment to go show it to Chief Hayes-White and now I know I don't have too. I WILL however give credit for this to Thaddeus Setla and Mark Glencorse who sat down in her office in November of 2009 and spoke about the power of social media, twitter, facebook and building a community using mobile technology. They may have just planted the seed that grew into what could be an amazing opportunity to mobilize a silent partner, the public.
You'd think this is the kind of thing the Department would ask social media folks about ahead of time. Like those that work there? I'll be submitting memo after memo trying to get on the team that steers this app. Why the district attorney is involved is beyond me, I'll see if I can find out. EDIT - Just got an email from the DA's office. THEY were the ones that saw the potential and took it to the Chief's office and that is why the DA is present.
If you are still entirely unsure what I'm talking about, visit this site for more info on the app, San Ramon Valley CA and keep a lookout for updates on when your service could begin dispatching citizens to start CPR before your rigs are even in drive.
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