HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Overnight emergency calls presently trigger loud alerts at every one of Hattiesburg’s nine fire stations, waking more than 40 firefighters even when only a handful are required to respond.
WDAM reports that the Hattiesburg Fire Department is introducing a new alerting system that will send notifications only to the station assigned to each incident, reducing unnecessary disruptions and safeguarding firefighters’ health.
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“This system will now allow the other ones to rest, and only notify the ones that are needed in order to handle the call,” Hattiesburg Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Carr said.
The new system costs just over $97,000, with funding provided by Forrest County Emergency Management. Carr said it will allow firefighters not assigned to a call to keep sleeping. Chronic sleep loss, he added, can seriously harm firefighters’ health and safety.
“Studies have shown that waking up as little as three times a night and staying up for more than 15 minutes puts you in a sleep-deprived state,” he said.
Station One Engineer Jonathan Hinton noted that firefighters are roused two or three times on an average night, and up to nine times on the busiest evenings, while radio traffic can keep everyone awake for hours, leaving little chance to regain sleep.
Fire department officials expect to have the new system installed at all nine stations by year’s end.
What’s the biggest sleep disruptor at your station: unnecessary alerts, radio traffic or something else? Share your thoughts below.
