By Cheril Lee
Omaha, NE – The Firefighter and Police Appreciation Day Foundation has donated 250 Scott Electronic Management Systems to the Fire Department.
There will be one SEM System for every air pack the fire department has in its possession. Assistant Fire Chief Dan Stolinski says each air pack currently has a pass device that emits an audio signal when the pack is rendered motionless for 30 seconds. He says this is so firefighters may be located in the case of injury during a fire.
Stolinksi says these new SEM Systems will add an additional layer of safety to the air packs. He says these systems will emit a radio frequency that tells when a firefighter is in distress. According to Stolinski, there's two-way communication between the firefighter and the commander. So, "if the commander wants to tell them the building is going to collapse and they need to get out, then they can send a signal through that device."
The SEM Systems can also be used to find out the status of all firefighters on scene. All the firefighters have to do is hit a button on their pass device to let commanders know they are alright.
Stolinski says this donation will keep the men and women of the Omaha Fire Department safer, which in turn makes Omahans safer.