I have an “app” for that! How many times have we heard that phrase? Even aging people like me are spending much more time on our portable electronic devices. And the young–well, forget about it. You’ve no doubt seen young people absorbed in their smartphones or tablets, often ignoring people around them. There have been recent examples of backlash against this extreme focus on electronic communication that can occur at the expense of human interaction, and that backlash is not new.
Balancing Act
For those of us who can remember, the book “Megatrends,” written by John Naisbitt in the early ’80s, pointed out that just as there has been a movement toward high-tech systems, there has also been an equal push back for “high-touch” systems and ways to stay connected with one another. But while there are concerns in regard to a high-tech lifestyle, it doesn’t mean we should avoid high-tech solutions for very real problems.
Fast forward about 30 years and we can see the evidence of high-tech solutions all around us. It’s amazing when you think about it. Can you remember when cell phones were the size and weight of a brick? What about when we used bound encyclopedias for research?The bottom line: High technology is here to stay, and for good reason. It’s useful and can make our lives far easier.
App Development
So how can we take advantage of technology in a fire prevention world? One way is by developing fire prevention and life safety apps.
The Philadelphia Fire Department did this some time ago. In partnership with Drexel University, the department developed an app for smartphones that “provides fingertip access to comprehensive and intensive fire and safety prevention tools for anyone with a mobile device or home computer,” says Kal Rudman, president of the Rudman Foundation, which supported Drexel and Philadelphia Fire in producing the app.
The app covers a wide variety of safety topics in a menu approach that can direct people toward simple but detailed information about fire safety, home escape plans, fire sprinklers, hospital locators and emergency preparedness. It is Web-based and has a “Quick Find” function that can be accessed online at www.freedomfromfire.com/fsapp.
The American Red Cross has also been developing apps for safety, including one that is linked in Philadelphia’s menu on first aid. They focus on emergency preparedness for disasters like tornados, wildfires, earthquakes and hurricanes, and even have a shelter finder. All Red Cross apps can be found on their website at www.redcross.org/prepare/mobile-apps.
Reality Check
In the end, we’re still trying to reach people and, if they don’t know about our tools or don’t feel they’re important, then no one will search them out. In fact, recent market research done by Salter Mitchell in Florida reveals (both quantifiably and qualitatively) that people don’t believe a fire is going to ever happen to them. They aren’t concerned about smoke alarms, home escape plans, fire sprinklers or fire prevention messages. Hurricanes and tornados occur often enough that they become part of our collective consciousness, but I’m not certain that translates into action any more than it does for fire safety. As such, it’s up to us to be even more vigilant about getting our message to the public.
Technology provides us with opportunities to reach people in ways that we haven’t before. But somewhere along the line, I think our high-tech solutions have to include a high-touch feature that attracts people to the information they need to be safe. In other words, we have to appeal to them emotionally, as Salter Mitchell analysis reveals, and offer them high-touch rewards, like protecting their loved ones, if we want them to pay seek out and pay attention to our apps.
