Another First for Evans Center:

"Internet Ready" Fire Apparatus

 Mid-Town – October 1, 2000 — Although emergency vehicles responding from the Evans Center Fire Company don't actually drive on the "Information Superhighway", the next time you see them on your local highway, you'll see that they're armed with a new public relations tool. In fact, while the construction of their new fire station is in the finishing stages, Evans Center has already built another new firehouse - this time on the Internet.

The Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company launched its own web presence: www.ecvfc.org in April of this year and has grown it to be an integral part of their public information, education and relations effort.

And now Evans Center is the first fire department in the area to add their web site address along side the other logos, numbers and markings on their apparatus – making their three fire engines, the ambulance and the fire chief's incident command unit – all ‘Internet Ready.’

Built from the ground up by OnScene Marketing Services headquartered in Angola, New York – the www.ecvfc.org home page sports a fiery theme and features ECVFC@work which is updated weekly, providing an “at a glance” look at recent and future happenings in this busy all-volunteer department.

The home page also links to a recruitment inquiry form, a calendar and events page, a department roster, a virtual tour of their apparatus, dispatch and statistical information, a feedback form for site visitors and ECVFCnews that includes weekly run reports. The roster page includes key contact phone numbers and hyperlinks to those members with e-mail capability.

Designed as an information center for both the public and Evans Center's growing membership, the site provides timely insight into the department's many activities. Evans Center welcomes visitors and their feedback – not just about the web site, but also about their operations and service to the community.

Future plans include a members-only section for posting department notices, standard operating procedures, training tips, station assignments and much, much more. Eventually, the public will be able to RSVP online to fire department events, request tours of their new station and even hall rental dates.

OnScene also distributes a periodic online magazine via e-mail (also called an e-zine) to persons that subscribe from the Evans Center web site. The e-zine is titled ECVFConline and provides updates on what's new with the web site and the fire department.

"The firehouse has always been recognized as a safe haven, an information center and even the 'social epicenter' of many communities. We've always had a welcome mat-open door policy at Evans Center - and we want to extend that to our online community as well. Communications is essential to emergency services and this web site is just another way for us to communicate with our valued customers - the residents, businesses and visitors of the Town of Evans," said Tiger Schmittendorf, Evans Center's Public Information Officer and OnScene Marketing's CIO-Chief Idea Officer.

However, their motives are not totally unselfish. By using the Internet as a medium for delivering vital information to their community – this emergency response agency also hopes to attract ‘Internet Ready’ Volunteers. "Being web-savvy and computer literate goes a long way towards understanding the technology we deal with every day - from microprocessor controlled pump panels to thermal imaging cameras to apparatus mounted laptops. That's the direction we're headed in and those are just some of the skills we're looking for," Schmittendorf says.

OnScene donates all of the web design and maintenance services for keeping the site looking good and up to date. OnScene is promoted as "the first marketing team responding to the needs of the emergency services community" and offers comprehensive marketing, management and consulting services. Their web address is: www.onscenemarketing.com.

The web site is hosted courtesy of Andrew Poulson, Vice President of The Networking People, Inc. (TNPinc.) and also a member at Evans Center. TNPinc. is a full service ISP-Internet Service Provider that offers a wide array of web hosting, network integration and technical services. They also offer discounted web hosting and dial-up Internet services to volunteer fire departments and firefighters in the Western New York area. Their site is: www.tnpinc.net and the discount information can be found at: www.ecvfc.org.

Evans Center believes that “Firefighting is not for everyone – but volunteering can be.” Evans Center offers flexible limited duty memberships in the areas of Fire/Rescue only, Fire Police only, Emergency Medical Services Only, or Water Rescue only. An active ladies auxiliary supports the department’s efforts and a busy Firefighter Explorer Post offers young adults, age 14-20, the opportunity to learn exciting new skills and meet new friends in a positive environment.

If you or anyone you know are interested in volunteering, please do not hesitate to contact the Evans Center Fire Company at 716/549-1221 or via e-mail at: info@ecvfc.org.

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Digital or print photos are available upon request. For photos or more information, contact Tiger Schmittendorf of OnScene Marketing Services at 716/583-5150 or via e-mail to tiger@onscenemarketing.com.