The days of horse-drawn pumpers, buckets, and dalmatians have given way to handheld devices, drones, and instant information.

When you think of firefighters, you may not always think of the internet, but the evolving natures of both the fire service and connectivity are merging on the frontlines of public safety.

In conjunction with the annual celebration of Fire Prevention Week (October 3-9), Wisper Internet spoke with the chief of a fire department at the crossroads of tradition and progress to talk about how reliable internet plays a role every time they are called to respond.

Washington, MO., fire chief Tim Frankenberg says many of the tools he and his firefighters are equipped with would be useless without reliable internet.

“Strong internet access is becoming crucial,” Frankenberg explained. “A lot of information we use is cloud-based and everything is going mobile. I can sit anywhere I have internet and have instant access to the data I need.”

For many years Wisper has partnered with the Washington Volunteer Fire Department to provide reliable service to assure not only the right people get to an emergency, but also the right information.

Thus far in 2021, the 90 members of the company have received up to 750 calls for service responding from one of half a dozen fire stations spread strategically throughout their city and rural response areas.

One of the tools the chief and his firefighters employ is an app on their phone which shows which personnel is responding to an emergency, from where and it also includes maps on how best to get resources to a scene.

Frankenberg added the department is currently in the process of equipping all apparatus with mobile devices.

“We are evaluating what types of are the best path for us,” Frankenberg said. “Once installed the devices will put maps, building construction, occupancies, emergency preplans, and even the location of fire hydrants at our fingertips.”

Recently the department has added the use of a drone to some of its emergency responses, which is able to send real-time photos to incident commanders at the scene of an incident or to an emergency operation center out of harm’s way.

The partnership with these brave volunteers is just one of the many commitments Wisper has made to the communities we serve. This week we honor those who put others first and risk their lives to keep their communities safe.

Wisper founder and CEO Nathan Stooke explained Wisper follows many of the same principles as those who serve in the fire service.

“Wisper is a tribe of humbly confident life-long learners, driving to solution and continuously committing to serve one another in the relentless pursuit of a better and better customer experience,” Stooke said. “Thank you all for your service.”

Wisper ISP, LLC, based in Mascoutah, Ill., is a wireless internet service provider with more than 200 employees and 20,000 subscribers across Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

For more information about Wisper Internet packages, or to determine service eligibility, contact the Wisper Sales Team at (800) 765-7772 or sales@wisperisp.com.