California's San Ramon Valley Fire Protection DistrictHonored with VITATM Wireless Samaritan Award

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June 7, 2011
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California's San Ramon Valley Fire Protection DistrictHonored with VITATM Wireless Samaritan Award

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District of San Ramon, California was recognized with a VITA(TM) Wireless Samaritan Award at the 17(th) Annual Achievement Awards dinner held by The Wireless Foundation and CTIA-The Wireless Association® on Monday, June 6. The District employees received the award for developing an innovative application (app) that alerts first aid trained citizens to emergencies that are nearby.

(LOGO: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-b

When San Ramon Fire Chief Richard Price was having lunch with his fire department colleagues, he was surprised to see a fire truck and emergency personnel responding to an emergency nearby. Even though he and his team were trained in first aid, they were unaware of a medical emergency taking place next door. This led Chief Price and his department to develop an innovative free app, "Fire Department," to alert first aid trained citizens to emergencies that are nearby. Due to the tremendous interest in the app, the San Ramon Fire Department is establishing a foundation to assist other fire departments around the world to create similar apps using open source software. 

"I commend Chief Price and the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District for their ingenuity in creating a lifesaving app that can be replicated around the world. They exemplify the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award and I am pleased to recognize them for their 'Fire Department' app," said Steve Largent, president of The Wireless Foundation and president and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association.

The awards are presented annually to recognize Americans who used wireless technology to save lives, stop crime and help in other emergency situations. Recipients are the epitome of good Samaritans who put safety first and use wireless to help those in need. With more than 300,000 wireless phone calls made to 911 every day, the awards also reinforce the crucial role wireless technology plays in emergencies.

Thanks to their new app to save lives, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District was selected by a panel of law enforcement and emergency response representatives. There were nine VITA Wireless Samaritan Award recipients from across the nation.

The Wireless Foundation is a non-profit organization that was formed by member companies of CTIA-The Wireless Association® in 1991.

The Foundation oversees a number of programs designed to put wireless technology to work addressing the challenges of society.

http://www.wirelessfoundation.org

SOURCE  The Wireless Foundation

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100629/DC28223LOGO-b
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
The Wireless Foundation

CONTACT: Amy Storey, +1-202-736-3207

Web Site: http://www.wirelessfoundation.org

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