Cameron Macdonald
The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif.
(TNS)
May 26—Southern Marin and Tiburon firefighters are employing a tool to alert drivers in case lights and sirens fail to do the job.
Using technology called Safety Cloud, a fire crew en route to an emergency can send alerts to nearby drivers announcing their approach through messages on the drivers’ smartphones or vehicle navigation systems.
The Southern Marin Fire Protection District recently installed the devices into their vehicles, Chief Chris Tubbs said.
“It’s safety for our firefighters and it’s safety for the community,” he said. “It’s really about reducing the risks out in the interstate and any roadway, but the freeways are where the higher risks are.”
The Southern Marin district covers about 25 square miles. Tubbs said the agency recently activated the technology and has not collected data on its early results.
Tubbs said it’s unlikely that Southern Marin crews will know which vehicles are getting the alerts and which ones are not.
The cost to activate the Safety Cloud technology for 24 vehicles was $1,200, said Kim Huff, a spokesperson for the Southern Marin district. The activation cost was split by the Tiburon and Southern Marin agencies, she said.
Both agencies’ annual service cost for the Safety Cloud system is $7,896, $4,277 of which is covered by the Southern Marin district, Huff said.
Tiburon Fire Protection District Chief Tommy Hellyer said his agency is working on getting the hardware to use the technology and plans to activate it next month.
“Sometimes they don’t hear the sirens, sometimes they don’t see the lights,” Hellyer said of drivers during emergencies. “I think that people are so conditioned to see their phones and their navigation systems in their vehicles, if this can provide that information to folks who are driving, then it’s safer for everyone.”
The product is made by HAAS Alert of Chicago. The alerts are delivered on seven platforms, including the Waze and Apple Maps apps, said Brock Aun, a company vice president.
Alerts also can be sent to certain vehicle models that have built-in mapping systems. Such vehicles include 2018 or newer Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler and Volkswagen models, Aun said.
Safety Cloud technology is being used by nearly 5,000 agencies worldwide, Aun said.
“Digital alerting significantly reduces the risk of collision, and responders really appreciate every layer of protection they can get on the road,” he said.