SMS solutions for emergency services

On the 2nd and 3rd of August, the Country Fire Authority (CFA) held its 4th Annual Community Engagement & Fire Awareness State Forum.

The aim of the event was to gather over 350 CFA volunteers from over 180 fire brigades around the state, to create a platform for like-minded CFA members to share ideas about how they could work together to engage their respective local communities.

In line with the theme – spreading awareness and engagement – keynote speakers were offered the opportunity to engage the audience directly, but in an effective and efficient manner. Which is where SMSGlobal came into play.

As a part of the Q&A time, the 350+ CFA members in the audience were encouraged to send in questions or comments that they wanted addressed by the speakers, via SMS. How it worked was simple.

On the projector screen at the front of the room was displayed an SMSGlobal dedicated number. Audience members were told to pick up their phones and text that number with their question or comment. That SMS (question or comment) was then displayed on the projector screen for the audience to see, and was discussed by the facilitating speakers.

This was all made possible by way of a simple web platform developed internally by SMSGlobal, which provide the CFA with an easy SMS work flow to aid audience participation and engagement during the forum.

CFA Project Manager and event organiser Jamie Devenish said "The interactive Q&A session was very popular and prompted some fantastic discussion; a couple of members actually indicated that they wished the session had been longer."

We’re more than pleased to say, the event went off without a hitch. We’d also like to thank the CFA for this opportunity to support a great cause. And, of course, for keeping our local communities safe and informed about fire safety.

Just another great example of how SMS can be used to lend a helping hand to different parts of your business.