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如今一遇上什么事，很多人的第一反應(yīng)就是掏出手機(jī)拍照或者錄像，然后傳到網(wǎng)絡(luò)上。然而，在緊急突發(fā)事故中，最急需獲知具體信息的警察、消防員或緊急事故調(diào)度員等相關(guān)人員卻苦于無法與公眾進(jìn)行有效的溝通。讓我們來看看Elerts公司新推出的緊急事件報(bào)告軟件是如何讓救援行動變得更加迅速有效的吧！
By Riva Richmond
谷豐 選注 溫純 譯
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Today, when a tornado leaves a path of destruction or a fire engulfs a home, you can be sure a citizen with a cellphone camera has captured the devastation and posted it to Facebook or Twitter, or sent it to the media. But up to now, that citizen has not been able to easily send images and details of what is unfolding to the people who need it most: the emergency dispatchers, police, firefighters and building-security people who must respond, and whose ability to help is often measured in minutes, if not seconds. That’s about to change. A one-year old company called Elerts has unveiled a system that’s designed to harness mobile and social technologies to speed the flow of information between citizens and emergency workers during a crisis. The system involves free mobile applications—iPhone and iPad app is available now—that eyewitnesses can use to report incidents and get public-safety alerts. And Elerts is offering a management console for municipalities, security firms and universities to receive the reports and disseminate warnings and instructions, like a map with the best evacuation route. The service is the brainchild of Chris Russo, deputy fire chief in the coastal town of Hull, Mass., and a 25-year veteran of emergency response. As mobile communications boomed, he grew increasingly frustrated by his inability to communicate effectively with colleagues and the public, particularly with people who are at the scene and might be able to provide help. Remembering situations when communications failed “puts a pit in my stomach,” Mr. Russo says. Like last summer, when he was involved in a search at a beach for a missing boy, who went into a bathhouse but didn’t come out. First responders, fearing an abduction, descended on the beach. The child’s mother, who didn’t speak English well, was so hysterical she couldn’t remember what color shorts he had on. Mr. Russo had no photo of the child, and no ability to enlist the eyes of beachgoers. Some people saw the commotion and thought shark attack. Mr. Russo had no way to allay their fears. Two long hours later, the boy was spotted by a low-flying helicopter lost and alone on the beach crying—a lucky break. “If 5 percent of beachgoers had an app to receive a message and send in sightings of a lost boy, the happy ending might have come much sooner,” Mr. Russo said. |
如今，當(dāng)一場龍卷風(fēng)留下一路殘骸或一場大火吞噬一座房屋之時(shí)，肯定會有某位市民用手機(jī)攝像頭捕捉到災(zāi)難畫面，把它上傳到Facebook或Twitter這樣的社交網(wǎng)站，或是發(fā)給媒體。 但迄今為止，還沒有人能方便地把畫面和事件詳情發(fā)給最需要的人：緊急事故調(diào)度員、警察、消防員和保安人員，（面對突發(fā)情況，）他們必須作出反應(yīng)，且?guī)椭Χ戎笮⊥ǔＪ且苑昼?、甚至是秒來衡量?/p> 但這一現(xiàn)狀即將得到改變。成立僅一年的Elerts公司推出一種軟件系統(tǒng)，它利用移動和社交技術(shù)來促進(jìn)危機(jī)事件中市民與緊急事故工作人員之間的信息交流。 該系統(tǒng)需通過免費(fèi)的手機(jī)應(yīng)用軟件來運(yùn)行（適用iPhone和iPad的應(yīng)用軟件已上市），目擊者可使用這些軟件來及時(shí)匯報(bào)事故情況以及接收到公共安全警報(bào)。Elerts公司同時(shí)為市政府、保安公司和大學(xué)提供了一款管理控制臺，用于接收事故報(bào)告和發(fā)出警告與指示，如提供標(biāo)有最佳疏散路線的地圖等等。 該服務(wù)系統(tǒng)是克里斯?拉索的發(fā)明，拉索是美國馬薩諸塞州沿海城市赫爾的消防副隊(duì)長，他可是一位有著25年應(yīng)對突發(fā)事件經(jīng)驗(yàn)的“老兵”。隨著現(xiàn)代移動通訊的蓬勃發(fā)展，他卻變得越來越泄氣沮喪，因?yàn)闊o法與同事和公眾進(jìn)行有效地溝通，特別是那些或許能提供幫助的在場人員。 一想起那些溝通失敗的情況，“就讓我心里特別難受。”拉索先生如是說。比如去年夏天，他在海灘上參與了一場搜救行動，失蹤的是一個(gè)男孩，他進(jìn)了一間更衣室之后就再也沒出來。首批應(yīng)急救援人員擔(dān)心會是一起綁架事件，于是大批出現(xiàn)在海灘上。孩子的母親英語不好，又因?yàn)榍榫w異常激動，一時(shí)記不起孩子穿的短褲顏色。拉索先生沒有孩子的照片，也沒有辦法收集沙灘游客們的目擊信息。有些人看到此番混亂景象，以為是鯊魚襲擊。拉索先生又沒有辦法消除他們的疑慮。 漫長的兩小時(shí)之后，一架低空飛行搜救的直升機(jī)發(fā)現(xiàn)了這名男孩，他走丟了，正獨(dú)自在海灘上哭泣，這真是萬幸??！“只要5%的沙灘游客有這樣一款應(yīng)用軟件能夠接收到（事故）信息，并發(fā)送走失孩子的目擊畫面，那么，這圓滿的結(jié)局也許會更快地到來呢，”拉索先生如是說。 （來源：英語學(xué)習(xí)雜志） |
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Vocabulary: app 〈俚〉=application，應(yīng)用程序，應(yīng)用軟件 engulf 包圍，吞沒 unfold 展現(xiàn)，呈現(xiàn) dispatcher （火車、汽車、飛機(jī)等的）調(diào)度員 console （機(jī)器、電子設(shè)備等的）控制臺，操縱臺 disseminate 散布，傳播（信息、知識等） brainchild 主意，發(fā)明 veteran 經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的人，老手 a pit in one’s stomach 心窩，心底 bathhouse 〈美〉（海水浴場等的）更衣室 enlist 爭取，謀取（幫助、支持或參與） allay 減輕（尤指情緒） break 〈口〉好運(yùn) |
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