The Leary Firefighters Foundation has announced that three volunteer fire departments have been selected as winners in the 2018 National “Spot-a-Hero” Technology Grant campaign. The three departments that will receive a $5,000 licensing grant for Spotted Dog Technologies’ Rover Incident Response Platform are Piggott Volunteer Fire Department (Arkansas), Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department (Maryland) and Elk Ridge Volunteer Fire Department (Utah).
To be eligible for the grant, volunteer departments were nominated by members of their communities on the SpotAHero.com website. Finalists were selected from the pool of nominees to have the opportunity to apply for the grants with three winners being chosen. “We are delighted to provide licensing grants to these very deserving departments to help put critical information in the hands of their firefighters in the first crucial minutes of an incident,” said Jodi Wallace, Program Administrator.
Elk Ridge Volunteer Fire Department was faced with the total evacuation of their town in September 2018 when a wildfire that started in the Mount Nebo Wilderness spread into town. As one resident noted in their nomination, “ERVD worked tirelessly and non-stop for 14 days to save our little community from being ravaged by fire. They slept in people's yards and driveways to protect homes while we were evacuated. For being a volunteer team from a tiny community, giving up was never an option.” The Bald Mountain Fire was the largest in Utah in 2018.
A resident of Prince Frederick, MD, nominated the 99-member Prince Frederick Fire Department, commenting, “This department has always gone above and beyond the call of duty. From rescuing animals and assisting the elderly to saving lives and protecting property. Truly my definition of heroes!”
In the small town of Piggott, Arkansas, the Piggott Volunteer Fire Department’s 21-member squad was recognized by one member of the community, stating “Piggott Firefighters are hardworking people with many other commitments and obligations in their lives. They still dedicate many hours a week to drill and emergency response, as well as to help our community.”
Rover works with a fire department’s dispatch system to send alerts to the mobile device carried by first responders. The Rover Platform provides access to information that tracks responding firefighters, and visually identifies hazards, hydrants and water sources. Rover is currently used by over 25,000 first responders at 500 agencies in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
For more information, go to SpottedDogTech.com
