TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – In an emergency, every second counts when you need help. And now, a service that gives live updates of emergency calls to EMS is coming back. The goal is to also allow bystanders to step in and help until emergency crews arrive.
Toledo Firefighters Local 92 paid the $10,500 fee to keep the service going. Union leaders said that seconds matter in an emergency, which is part of the reason they chose to bring it back.
“When it comes to cardiac arrest, seconds matter with people’s lives,” said Joseph Cira, president of Toledo Firefighters Local 92 Union.
PulsePoint is the community’s view into the needs of firefighters and EMS. After being offline since August, it’s back up and running thanks to Toledo Firefighters Local 92.
“It was kind of eye-opening seeing how much interest there was in it on the public side. I didn’t really realize it, and then you get on some of those Facebook pages and you see just how often they use that to stay informed,” said Dan Evans, secretary-treasurer of Toledo Firefighters Local 92 Union.
The app used to cover calls throughout the county, but now only covers calls within Toledo. Union leaders say not only is it a helpful tool for citizens, but for responders, too.
“Our members can look things up, they can see the runs come in, they can listen to the radio. Up here it lets us know to be aware of things, too. With EMS calls with the new system, we can have more information available to our members responding to the call,” said Evans.
Not only does the app send alerts for medical issues, fires and traffic accidents, but it also shows where AEDs are located throughout the city, as well as a map feature to show exactly where an incident is at.
“The idea of getting people who are trained to help and provide care. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re here as first responders for we’re here to help people and in an emergency, show up and make things better. So if somebody can get there and start helping with that before we get there, even if it’s just the most basic, starting chest compressions on somebody, it makes a huge difference,” said Cira.
Union leaders say they are working with Toledo City Council to help fund the app, as well as other community partners to help with educational aspects such as CPR classes.
“There’s a lot of unknowns in our job, and if you can eliminate some of them in whatever way, it is valuable,” said Evans.
The union has only paid for the app for one year and will decide if they want to continue to fund it when that year is up.
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-02-21 18:04:00
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