White Rock Firefighter Profile

A father-in-law/sonin-law duo has joined the White Rock Fire Department ranks, bringing a high level of real-life experiences to the volunteer posts.

White Rock Fire Department officials are trying to increase their public awareness by sharing their 911 call responses online.

The information posted is limited to the incident’s time and nature, said White Rock fire chief Jason Bowman. Specifics are not shared and citizens’ privacy is not infringed, he added.

The 911 calls are funneled through the 911 dispatch center and also pinged through a system, Active 911. Department officials purchased the Active 911 system, which sends a message to each volunteer firefighter’s phone, alerting him or her of an emergency.

Firefighters can then bump that information to social media, such as Facebook, Bowman said.

White Rock fire officials just started posting the 911 calls about a month ago as a form of public awareness, Bowman said.

Firefighters work hard, handling approximately 25 calls monthly and about 300 a year, Bowman said.

Posting the calls helps alert the community to brush fires or accidents, while letting neighbors know the department is addressing those emergencies, he said.

In just a few days’ time, firefighters responded to a vehicle fire, a controlled burn and a stroke incident.

Bowman hasn’t heard much feedback from residents so far but said it’s still early to hear from the community.

“It’s still pretty new,” he said. “The public awareness is slowly growing.”

The Active 911 system is utilized by neighboring departments, including Washburn, Pea Ridge, Pineville and Bella Vista.

Directives from the system allow firefighters to know the location of the other firefighters and track their movements. That way, it allows firefighters to call others for back-up as needed and be able to see arrival time in realtime, he said.

Other information — such as hydrant locations or special hazards — is available to alert firefighters, he said.

The system’s design informs emergency personnel, who can then keep their White Rock neighbors in the loop.

“It lets the White Rock community know what’s going on,” Bowman said. “It’s a way to share with the public that we’re going on calls.”