Elerts has unveiled a system that’s designed to harness mobile and social technologies to speed the flow of information between citizens and emergency workers during a crisis.
The system involves free mobile applications—an iPhone app is available now, and Android and iPad apps will be available in the next few weeks—that eyewitnesses can use to report incidents and get public-safety alerts. And Elerts is offering a management console for municipalities, security firms and universities to receive the reports and disseminate warnings and instructions, like a map with the best evacuation route.
The service is the brainchild of Chris Russo, deputy fire chief in the coastal town of Hull, Mass., and a 25-year veteran of emergency response. As mobile communications boomed, he grew increasingly frustrated by his inability to communicate effectively with colleagues and the public, particularly with people in harms way.
Elerts also plans to push incident information to local first responders who use its apps. And soon it expects to provide raw alerts to clients of its management console, which will let organizations view, assess and respond to nearby incidents. The company is in late-stage talks with a number of local governments and universities
Source; nytimes
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