New information display goes up at Denison Fire Station

Members of the Denison Volunteer Firefighters Association (DVFA) recently purchased a public information sign that is now mounted above the main entrance to the Denison Fire Station.

The screen will be used to display general public safety messages on most days, but will also be used to get information out about urgent issues such as missing persons or dangerous weather conditions.

DVFA members have been talking about getting a public information board for six or seven years, according to Mike Schrum, who is a captain of the Denison Volunteer Fire Department.

For Fire Prevention Week every year, the association purchases banners and other temporary items to spread the word about fire safety issues.

“It’s always been in the back of our minds how to get something like an LED (light-emitting diode) sign or something similar where we could display information year-round and not have to worry about it being cracked or weather-faded,” Schrum said.

The DVFA has been saving money for the project for about seven years.

“We started banking away some donation money when we could,” he said. “Fortunately, this year we got enough funds racked up that we were able to do it.”

About a year ago, Schrum, Chad Stephens, Tyler Weller, Jared Kropf and Josh Hoffmeier formed a subcommittee of the DVFA to make a recommendation on purchasing the sign.

Schrum said the subcommittee listened to the association’s thoughts on the project, contacted several sign manufacturers and installers and researched issues such as screen brightness and durability.

“Once the subcommittee put a recommendation together, it was taken back to the association where all options were discussed, and ultimately it was the association that voted on which sign, which size and all the final details,” he said.

The sign was completely funded through donations given to the DVFA.

“There was no city money applied to the cost of the sign,” Schrum said.

The display screen is four feet tall by eight feet wide.

Schrum said all of the messages shown on the screen will concern public safety issues of some type.

“Right now, we have a harvest message that is being displayed – slow down, share the road; respect their (farmers’) time and they’ll respect ours,” he said. “We had one put up over the weekend with uptown festivities to remind people not to drink and drive.”

On Friday of last week, the screen displayed the kind of message Schrum would rather not have to show at all.

“We did a memorial for the Algona police officer that lost his life in the line of duty,” he said.

Other messages will be aimed at seasonal issues, such as the current dry conditions that recently caused the county to enact a burn ban.

Winter messages will concern road conditions and driver safety.

Urgent, timely messages will supersede the programmed messages.

“(The sign) has the capability to automatically cut off whatever is currently displaying anytime there is an Amber Alert or a severe weather alert,” Schrum said.

The urgent message will stay up until the issue is resolved.

Follow us on Facebook for the latest news and updates