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Congratulations to Firefighter James Gossett, recipient of the City of Coral Gables "Firefighter of the Month Award," for the month of January 2015.
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Firefighter James Gossett has been selected January's Firefighter of the Month for his outstanding display of individual initiative surpassing job requirements and expectations, specifically his efforts in establishing a records system for the hydrants at the University of Miami. In early December, Firefighter Gossett and Firefighter Gooch were given the assignment of Hydrant Maintenance for the University of Miami. Shortly after starting their inspection using the current hydrant checklist and a UM atlas map, they found hydrants that were not located on the list or the map. Firefighter Gossett took the initiative to find an application which he downloaded to his phone that records locations of hydrants. This app allowed him to put in the GPS location of each hydrant and displays the location on a map overlay. In addition, this app lets him take a picture of the hydrant and insert notes. Firefighter Gossett recorded over 50 hydrants. The information that Firefighter Gossett collected will be vital in creating a new and more accurate UM hydrant list and location map. In the future, this information may be used for locating and maintaining all hydrants in Coral Gables.
Most importantly, Firefighter Gossett's efforts enable emergency personnel to have reliable, real-time information that is vital during an emergency.