SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Getting help in the wilderness can be tough when there are no street addresses or cell service. But now, Seminole County firefighters have created their own app to make finding people in trouble faster and easier.
The Seminole County Fire Department (SCFD) built a custom internal app to cut down response times on trails and in remote areas. The county has more than 140 miles of hiking and biking trails and over 6,000 acres of wilderness. As more people head outdoors, calls for help in those areas have gone up.
Before the app, it could take two to three hours for crews to locate someone needing help. Now, thanks to this new tool, the average response time is around just 30 minutes.
Lt. Ed Castlen, who helped lead the project, says they looked at other tools but found creating their own was the best choice.
The app uses detailed maps filled with trail info like difficulty levels, trailhead locations, landmarks, and even local nicknames for popular spots. It also shows what kind of vehicles can access each area — from bikes to off-road trucks.
Importantly, the app works without cell service by using GPS already built into smartphones and tablets. That means crews can find people even deep in the woods.
Firefighters tested the app during training by pretending to respond to an emergency call. What would take more than an hour in the past using maps — Lt. Castlen, using the app, got there in 25 minutes.
Since rolling out the app, SCFD has started sharing it with other agencies like the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Castlen says the project was only possible because of great teamwork across the county.
“What this really shows is how important it is to have strong teamwork,” he said. “This was a total team effort — and that’s exactly why it worked.”
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