NITRO, W.Va. — The Nitro City Council has opened bids for a new computer program aimed at providing the Nitro Fire and Building departments with information related to structures and parcels within city limits.
The departments will be able to use the Community Connect program to submit fire reports and building permits. Residents and business owners could also sign up for the program and submit information about houses, residential issues and businesses.
“If you have an elderly person staying in your home and you want to notify the fire department that you’ve taken your parents in, you can notify us from that address when you sign in,” Captain A.J. Shinn said. “When you call 911 … it now notifies us on our monitor, on our screen that at 217 Frist Ave., there’s an elderly (person), disabled who’s staying there.”
The program would also allow officials to register vacant properties and structures.
Shinn added the ability to share information between departments allows firefighters to understand any potential building violations or hazards.
“As soon as we get the call, it’s right there in our hands,” he said. “Whereas now, we have files and files of years of data that we went out and collected that’s in a file somewhere, but right now it could be at our fingertips.”
Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt said the project will be out to bid for “a couple of weeks.” The city council’s next scheduled meeting will take place April 20.