How broke is Detroit? How archaic is the fire department's emergency alert system?
Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press writes that Detroit is so broke that firefighters get emergency alerts through pop cans, coins, door hinges, pipes and doorbells.
She writes "that they make these gizmos themselves — one involving a pop can that gets tipped over by an incoming fax. The clink of the can means there’s an emergency. Then there’s the chain-reaction gadget: a fax hits a door hinge, which then tugs on a wire, which then sets off a doorbell"
“It sounds unbelievable, but it’s truly what the guys have been doing and dealing with for a long, long time,” said Detroit Deputy Fire Commissioner John Berlin, according to the Freep. “We’re in desperate need. We’re probably 30 years behind.”
Baldas reports that Berlin's comments only confirm testimony on Friday in Detroit's U.S. Bankruptcy trial that technological upgrades in the city are long overdue. The use of a pop can was mentioned in court as illustration of just how far behind the city is in the technological world.
She writes that none of the department's 38 firehouses have the modern-day emergency alert systems. In other cities, a series of bells sound off when an emergency alert comes into a fire station. Then an automated voice instructs firefighters on where the engines should go.
