The Norfolk Fire Division is seeing the benefits of HAAS Alert's groundbreaking Safety Cloud technology on several of its emergency response units. This adoption of innovative technology underscores the City's ongoing commitment to enhancing public safety and improving emergency response capabilities.

The HAAS Alert Safety Cloud platform enables Norfolk Fire to transmit crucial alerts about approaching emergency vehicles directly to nearby motorists. By equipping select units with this innovative technology, the division seeks to minimize response times, reduce the risk of accidents, and ultimately save lives.

"We are grateful for this technology to help inform the public they may be approaching an emergency, or an emergency vehicle may be approaching their location. Since September of 2023 when we started using this technology, we have alerted drivers 17,483 times as of the end of March,” said Trever O’Brien, Assistant Fire Chief. 

“This is a very useful tool to help keep the public and emergency responders safe while responding and working at incident scenes. Emergency vehicle related accidents are one of the greatest risks that face responders today. If you are alerted to these situations, please avoid an emergency area and or pull over to the right and stop if a response vehicle is approaching. Do not stop in round a bouts or intersections, responders may need to use these areas to access emergencies. We are hopeful this is a helpful tool for us all and we are looking forward to the future,” O’Brien added.

HAAS Alert's Safety Cloud utilizes vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology to deliver real-time alerts to motorists through connected vehicle systems and navigation applications. When emergency vehicles equipped with the Safety Cloud approach, nearby motorists receive instant notifications, allowing them to safely yield and make way for the responding units.