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Red Cross launches wildfire app |
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Friday, 26 October 2012 15:38 |
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The American Red Cross is taking advantage of new, hand-held computer innovations to enhance safety for potential victims of natural disasters, including wildfires. Black Hills Fox Reporter Al Van Zee has the story.
The Red Cross has released a new computer app that puts live-saving information in the hands of people who might be in the path of a wildfire. The app gives advice on how to best prepare for the possibility of wildfires, and deal with fires once they occur. It also lists procedures in the event of evacuations, and what steps to take to organize a family escape route. The app also gives information on the nearest Red Cross shelters in the vicinity of a given wildfire. It even has a map showing the direction of the fire's travel and the size of the fire. The new app is part of a series of apps from the Red Cross that deal with a whole range of natural disasters. Richard Smith says, "The application has just been developed by our national Red Cross in looking at what can they do to help people in their communities just better prepare. So the wildfire is just one application that's been developed. Another one is our first aide application. And there's also a hurricane and an earthquake app that people can use in those areas that would be affected by those." More and more, people are beginning to rely on their smart phones and tablet computers for a whole range of emergency information including emergency weather. The Red Cross wants to communicate with people who want to use their cutting edge technology gadgets to the greatest extent possible. Richard Smith says, "This works on any smart phone. So the Apple and the Droid are the ones that we use today." For more information on getting a copy of the new wildfire information app, contact the Black Hills Chapter of the American Red Cross, or enter Black Hills Red Cross in your favorite search engine. Al Van Zee, Black Hills Fox News. |
