The Louisville Metro Fire Department has purchased a bilingual 9-1-1 simulator to help people in the Hispanic community learn how to use the emergency calling system. 9-1-1 MetroSafe Director Doug Hamilton says some of them come from countries that don’t have a similar system."This is a program that could be very helpful for us. Anything we can do to that we can reduce the amount of time for us to identify what a critical need is for the caller. And to get them the assistance they require is going to shave seconds. If you’ve seen the motto on our website, 'when seconds count, count seconds.'"The device allows the user to have a conversation with a simulated emergency dispatcher.It was purchased with a $5,000 grant from State Farm Insurance. Some leftover funds were used to buy 160 smoke detectors for distribution to those in need.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.