Akron Ohio News - Emergency notification system helps locate missing man

Community News

Emergency notification system helps locate missing man

9/20/2012 - West Side Leader

By Ariel Hakim

The emergency notification system rolled out countywide earlier this summer proved useful in Sharon, said Fire Chief Rob Haas at the township’s Board of Trustees meeting Sept. 11.

This was the first time the new “reverse 9-1-1” digital calling system, implemented by Everbridge, had been used in Sharon, said Haas. The system made 2,500 calls in 3 minutes Sept. 10 asking people to check their backyards for a missing Alzheimer’s patient, according to Haas. Calls went out to all landlines in the database within a 3-mile radius from the incident, he said.

The missing man was found about a mile away from his home, Haas added.

The notification system allows information to be relayed quickly for severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, gas leaks, critical police activity and other emergencies, according to the Medina County Emergency Management Agency’s (EMA) website, www.ema.co. medina.oh.us.

Individuals wishing to opt-in for their cell phones, pagers or email addresses can do so through a link from Sharon’s Fire Department’s website at www.sharonfire.org, according to Haas.

Individuals who need assistance can register by calling the EMA at 330-722-9240.

Trustee Brian Guccion suggested one improvement would be to make sure the alerts sound less like a marketing call. Resident Charlie Robinette also said that he hung up on the message, thinking it was a test of the system, not an actual emergency.

“The system is up and running, and it’s been successful — but we can improve it,” said Haas.

Also at the meeting, Haas asked trustees to approve hiring two individuals to his department in a nonfirefighting capacity. They would teach fire and severe weather safety to students in kindergarten through fourth grades at Sharon Elementary School, he said.

One individual would work four to six hours per week at the school at a suggested pay rate of $19.38 per hour, he said. The program, to bring more safety education to elementary school students, is in collaboration with the Granger and Hinckley fire departments, he noted.

In the past, safety instruction by Sharon Fire Department personnel has taken place only during Fire Safety Week, in which a firefighter would teach two grade levels using the department’s safety trailer.

Audience members present spoke out against the potential action, questioning why students would need instruction on the subject each week. Following that, trustees tabled the request to give it further consideration.

In other Sharon Fire Department related business:

• Haas reported the alternator on Engine 131-1 was not charging and needed to be replaced recently, which cost $2,700, and brakes on 137-1, which were out of warranty, were replaced for $3,600.

• Trustees approved spending $9,569 to purchase handheld radios, pagers and other mobile devices that could not be narrowbanded. The purchase will complete the transition to narrowbanding, which is required by law starting January 2013, according to Haas.

• Trustees approved spending $1,109 on a device that will assist emergency personnel with placing a tube in a patient’s lungs. The item is a grant-reimbursable expense, he said.

Also at the meeting:

√ Guccion said the township is involved with the sale of the former Stauffer’s furniture store property on Sharon Circle because it owns the parking lot. Also, potential buyers have concerns regarding water coming down the hill from Sharon Elementary, he said. A meeting with potential buyers and their and township attorneys is tentatively scheduled for later this month, added Guccion.

√ Trustees went into executive session with Brian Richter, Medina County assistant prosecuting attorney, to discuss charges and investigations of a public employee. Afterward, trustees approved a motion to designate Haas to investigate a complaint received regarding a Fire Department employee.

√ Trustees approved spending $9,100 for more than 60 trees and bushes from Chronister Tree Farm to be planted in the cemetery. The area for planting already has been prepared, said Trustee Kimberly Bolas Miller.

√ Zoning Inspector Neil Jones said he issued two more single-family home permits since the trustees’ last meeting.

√ Trustees discussed seismic testing operations that recently took place in the township. Resident Kathie Jones said Precision was the second company to run cables through the township for seismic testing, and she was told the company was issued a permit from the Ohio Department of Transportation.

The township was not notified in either case the testing would be happening, said Bolas Miller. The cables ran straight through township property on Sharon Circle, she said. She added she talked to Medina County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thorne and was told trustees could file a lawsuit against the company, but operations in the township would likely be complete by the time a suit was decided.

Kathie Jones said Hinckley trustees were able to prevent seismic testing on township property and encouraged Sharon trustees to attempt the same in the future. Trustees added that if another seismic testing company begins work in the township again, they will react.

Resident Bill Bramley said he does not understand what is wrong with allowing seismic testing in the township. “I just see this as another item trying to discourage the oil and gas industry,” he said.

Trustees next plan to meet Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Administration Building on Sharon Circle.

More Community News

Calendar of Events

...More Events