By ZEINAB NAJM
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK — The Fire Department recently entered into subscription with HAAS Alert, which will allow drivers to know when emergency vehicles are responding to a scene nearby in real-time.
According to the website, Safety Cloud by HAAS prevents collisions by digitally alerting drivers of critical roadway information including road hazards, work zones and first responders.
Fire Chief Edward Cann spoke about the program during the Sept. 28 City Council meeting. He said the GPS-based unit that goes in each of the department’s fire apparatus, ambulances and chief vehicles is already being used.
Cann also said Grand Rapids and Birmingham fire departments already had the program and Dearborn is considering adding it.
“What it is, is their trademark is a safety cloud around the vehicle and when the emergency master switch is turned on, which activates our emergency lights, it sends out a single and if the vehicle is moving it will send out a signal forward to those that it’s about to pass letting you know that there is an emergency vehicle coming behind you,” Cann said. “On the highway it’s about nine football fields and its speed-based so that on Allen Road or Southfield Road it might be a little closer proximity. That way you might get an opportunity to look in your mirror and pull over.”
When the vehicle stops for more than 30 seconds, that becomes a scene and as long as that emergency master switch is turned on and firefighters are still on the scene, drivers coming toward the scene will know that there’s an emergency ahead.
“As you might recall, in July of 2020 our ladder got hit on the highway and caused a tremendous amount of damage and could’ve caused tremendous injury or death,” Cann said. “Right around that time several other fire apparatuses had been hit. It’s a big concern for police and fire and DPS when we’re working on the roads.”
There is also a dashboard feature for when lights are off, but the GPS is always on. Cann said that dispatch, the chief, deputy chief and officer in charge at the fire station will each have a dashboard.
“So, if we receive a call, it’s always the officer in charge at the fire station that has the opportunity to say it’s engine two, engine one — it just depends who is closer to the scene,” he said. “He’ll have that opportunity to know exactly where they are.”
Currently, the program is being transmitted to the WAZE app, with Apple Maps still in the works.
HAAS just entered into an experimental agreement with Stellantis to possibly have the alert sent to the display that’s on a vehicle’s dashboard for drivers to see, Cann said.
He believes that the program will be slowly brought into many other manufacturers, but for now the program is standard equipment in all future fire trucks.
Another feature of the program is the emergency-vehicle-to-emergency-vehicle alerting system which is an extra cost the department hasn’t opted for.
“There’s been problems when two fire trucks are coming to the same intersection and they run into each other and could cause great injury death or cost to the cities,” Cann said.
When asked by Mayor Gail McLeod if the program can be used on any emergency vehicles, including police vehicles Cann said that is an option.
For more information on HAAS Alert go to www.haasalert.com.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)