For Immediate Release s126

DEPARTMENT of 480 Clinton Avenue, 2th Floor PUBLIC SAFETY Newark, New Jersey 07108 (973) 733-6008 PUBLIC Ras J. Baraka, Mayor INFORMATION Anthony F. Ambrose, Public Safety Director OFFICE Raul Malave III, Assistant Public Safety Director Darnell Henry, Chief of Police Rufus Jackson, Chief of Fire

For Immediate Release May 5, 2017 For Further Information, Contact: Captain Derek Glenn (973) 877-9374 Or Public Information Officer Catherine Adams (973) 733-3995

Mayor Baraka and Public Safety Director Ambrose Announce Fire Hydrant Inspections Using Wireless Tablets

Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose announce that the Fire Division is completing its inspection of fire hydrants throughout the City of Newark using wireless tablets as part of a pilot program.

The Newark Fire Division began inspecting fire hydrants on April 17, 2017 using 25 Samsung tablets to increase efficiency, reduce paperwork and to log the exact location of the hydrants using the tablets’ GPS feature. This technology allows fire personnel to wirelessly upload results of the inspections to a database along with a photo of each hydrant.

“This is one of many City initiatives using technologies to make government more responsive, cost effective and efficient,” Mayor Baraka said.

“Having the GPS capability to locate all hydrants in the city allows us to efficiently provide the Newark Water Department with updates of hydrant conditions and to simultaneously gather important information for firefighter use,” Director Ambrose added.

Hydrant inspections are conducted to ensure that each hydrant operates properly in the event of a fire emergency. The hydrants are being individually opened to ensure that they are in proper working order. They are also being visually inspected for missing caps, bolts or other issues. Hydrants requiring repairs will be reported to the Newark Water Department, which is responsible for the upkeep of fire hydrants in the city.

For questions or additional information regarding a fire hydrant, kindly contact the Water Department at: (973) 733-6303. ###