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Pa. FD connects critical citizen information with operations through new website

Launching during Fire Prevention Week, users of the free service can upload details about occupants and hazards to assist Easton firefighters in emergencies.

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Easton Fire Department Engine 2013.

Easton Professional Firefighters/Facebook

By Anthony Salamone
The Morning Call

EASTON, Pa. — Easton officials hope a new online tool will prod residents and merchants to provide information for firefighters who might be dispatched to a blaze at their addresses.

The Easton Fire Department has launched a Community Connect portal to coincide with Fire Prevention Week, which begins Oct. 6, Chief Henry Hennings said.

The free service will let residents and business owners upload pertinent information about building or business occupants, and their needs in the event of an emergency. That might include that a building houses someone who is bedridden, or contains stored hazardous materials.

The portal can include emergency contact information, relevant fire alarm system components and their locations, and special hazards such as oxygen cylinders in the property.

The information could help first responders do their jobs faster and more efficiently, potentially preventing serious damage, injury or deaths, according to Hennings. It also ensures that information provided to the department is current. When an emergency is dispatched, an alert goes to the fire department’s mobile response system listing the incident address.

Hennings said anyone in the city can participate. Subsequent property owners would have no access to information entered by previous owners, he said.

Hennings said anyone who wants more information can contact firefighter Ian Insley at 610-250-7762, or go to communityconnect.io/info/pa-easton online.

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