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Ipad to the rescue in Oklahoma blizzard - literally!

4

4phun

iPF Noob
From my morning email...

GUTHRIE, Okla. -- Guthrie firefighters said they were able to rescue an
elderly man because of an iPad.

They said it happened when their ambulance got stuck in snow on their
way to rescue an 80-year-old man who fell and got trapped in a
snowdrift.

Rescue crews said they could not find the location of the man after they
were stuck in snow. To remedy the situation, Fire Chief Lester Branch
headed out with his iPad and guided the ambulance crew through a map
application.

Branch asked the ambulance team to find a particular road sign.

"From that point, we could give them exact directions and follow this
trail," he said.

The ambulance crews were able to find and rescue the elderly man.

"I think we all agree the use of the iPad was a huge tool in doing
that," said Branch.

Copyright 2011 by koco.com <mailto:oklnews@koco.com> . All rights
reserved.

###

Ed Kostiuk ,OCEM

Emergency Manager

ESF8 Sector Chief Oklahoma InfraGard

ICS Advanced Instructor #1060

ESF8 State & FEMA Region VI Liaison Officer

Oklahoma State Dept. of Health

(405) 271-0900 Office (Active 24/7/365)

(405) 850-2311 Cell

(405) 202-9196 Blackberry

EdK@health.ok.gov <mailto:EdK@health.ok.gov>

ekostiuk@leo.gov <mailto:ekostiuk@leo.gov>

As a professional Emergency Manager, I will ensure timely, appropriate
and reliable emergency management information utilizing situational
awareness reports provided to me.

When a disaster strikes, I will work closely with my public and private
partners to deliver timely and appropriate assistance to our citizens.
(c)
Click to expand...

Obviously Ed was impressed with the report of the iPad's service during the latest disaster in Oklahoma.

Ed, an Oklahoma Emergency Manager, is a contributor to 'The Daily Brief' and 'Crisis Alert' in the USA. This email came from The Daily Brief.

 
Cool story, but I'm disappointed in the fire fighters.

Not sure how much things have changed, but i was a full time firefighter / EMT from 2000 - 2003 and we were required to know every single road in our coverage area and the majority of the rest of the city. They are too spoiled now with GPS and apparently are no longer required to learn their coverage area. Luckily someone thought to use an iPad, but the few minutes they were delayed waiting for it could have meant a life was lost. Fortunately it didn't end that way.
 
Superbike81 said:
Cool story, but I'm disappointed in the fire fighters.

Not sure how much things have changed, but i was a full time firefighter / EMT from 2000 - 2003 and we were required to know every single road in our coverage area and the majority of the rest of the city. They are too spoiled now with GPS and apparently are no longer required to learn their coverage area. Luckily someone thought to use an iPad, but the few minutes they were delayed waiting for it could have meant a life was lost. Fortunately it didn't end that way.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing!
 
It sounds like the ambulance did not have GPS. The snow conditions were such that you could get lost in familiar areas. The snow and drifts made it hard to even find some roads. If they had a decent GPS, the driver might have been able to get back on track.

There is a decent argument for having iPads on emergency vehicles, and this just adds to the reasons. I forsee a lot of people buying their own iPads to improve their job performance. After a while, the powers that be, will start issuing them. Just like it was with cell phone a few years ago.
 
It would be much easier to have a small handheld GPS for that purpose, the iPad is too big and too fragile to use in outdoor emergent situations.
 
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