FD1 gets first GPS unit; funds raised by raffle will also support fitness programs

Slidell resident Dwayne Shockley was able to deliver on a promise made to Fire District 1 Chief Larry Hess when the department’s first GPS unit was installed in Engine 14 Friday.

The units were purchased with funds raised in a wine tasting and raffle organized by Shockley. Held in August, the event raised over $7,000, enough to cover the cost of outfitting all 23 vehicles in the FD1 fleet with the devices, plus a good portion that will go towards the department’s Fit as a Firefighter and Safe Kids programs.

Shockley was entertaining a friend in his Rigolets home earlier this year when the visiting man suffered what appeared to be a heart attack. He called 911, and Engine 16, based in Eden Isles, was dispatched immediately.

Since many of the street signs blown away by Hurricane Katrina had still not been replaced in Shockley’s neighborhood, the engine company rushed by as he watched helplessly. Acadian Ambulance, equipped with a high-tech tracking device, arrived promptly, so the engine was able to quickly backtrack and assist with emergency care.

Shockley called Hess the next day, and found the department had looked into outfitting the fleet with laptops and global positioning devices, but the cost was prohibitive. The department had previously budgeted several hundred thousand dollars for the project, but was forced year after year to cut the amount.

Shockley, a wine broker, made a promise to Hess.

“I told him, ‘I’m gonna help you get some GPS units,” said Shockley. “I know it shouldn’t have to cost that much to get them.”

Shockley approached Best Buy, and the store agreed to give the department a hefty discount and install the units in each of the vehicles at no cost. He also arranged the raffle, and Russell Landesmann, an FD1 battalion chief, won the grand prize of 100 bottles of wine.

Alishia Stagray, a Best Buy supervisor, said the navigational device, a Garmin with a 4 ?-inch screen, is one of the store’s most popular units and offers many features that will be helpful to firefighters responding to a call. While the store’s Geek Squad has installed numerous similar units in cars, trucks, RVs and even boats, this was the first time they had performed the task on a fire engine.

Stagray added that the store’s role in the project was in keeping with its history of community involvement.

“Dwayne came in and told us the story, and it seemed like something we could relate to,” she said. “We wanted to do what we could to help out.”