Photo: http://www.honeywellfirstresponder.com
Mike’s wife, Tresa Baldas, has just posted a great article and video at the Detroit Free Press.
Did you think the saga of Detroit’s bankruptcy couldn’t get more bizarre (you know, charitable Canadians sending water to the poor because the city cut them off)? Well, get this.
Baldas writes, “Detroit is so broke that firefighters get emergency alerts through pop cans, coins, door hinges, pipes and doorbells.
“And 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, adding that technological upgrades are long overdue. ‘We’re in desperate need. We’re probably 30 years behind.’
“Berlin’s comments confirmed [Friday’s] testimony of a recovery consultant for the city of Detroit, who said at the bankruptcy trial that technological upgrades are long overdue in the city.
“The witness, Charles Moore, talked about how the city plans to spend $1.4 billion on services when it emerges from bankruptcy….
“Due to budget constraints, none of the city’s 38 firehouses have the modern-day emergency alert systems that most other cities use. …
“Berlin said they make the alert systems themselves, buying simple materials like wire and doorbells and hinges from the hardware store or Radio Shack. Or, they just set an empty pop can by a fax machine, sometimes filling it with coins. Some, he said, set a pipe that sounds like a wind chime near a printer, where the paper alert comes out.” More here.
You’ve got to give Detroit firefighters points for creativity. Their Rube Golberg contraptions actually seem to work, unlike the one I made with Joanna Pousette-Dart when I was 12.
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