To the Editor:

The decision by Emmaus Borough Council to remove the Gamewell system concerns me and should concern the residents of Emmaus.

The Gamewell system provided a backup system to alert emergency personnel of situations should there be no dial tone to contact cell phones or the Lehigh County 911 system.

As an Emergency Management Coordinator for Salisbury Township, we were told at our training at the Pennsylvania level there would be bad storms and emergency plans should be in place. We were warned.

The past two storms the Lehigh Valley experienced were a wake up call for us.

The statement about the Gamewell system being antiquated is totally false.

The system was refurbished; the fire department found equipment to replace the older equipment enabling the system to last another 60 years.

I have been an emergency responder since I was 14 years old with the Upper Milford Western District and I was an emergency dispatcher at the Lehigh County Communications Center.

At the time, Bruce Fosselman spoke with me about merging into the Lehigh County 911 center but wanted to maintain the Gamewell system because it was very important to the infrastructure in Emmaus to have a back up system if all else fails. I thought, 'Emmaus, you really have your act together.' The system worked for 20 years, now it isn't needed?

What is their backup plan when 911 and cell phones are out?

My company Dispatch Answering Service was directly connected to the emergency Gamewell boxes. When the box was activated, it signaled my service which runs on emergency backup. Emergency personnel were contacted. This is not sour grapes for me; as an emergency management coordinator, I am concerned for the residents of Emmaus.

The borough should talk with the people of Emmaus regarding education on what should be done during emergencies.

Sometime in June, Carbon County removed their Gamewell system and their 911 system went down on a weekend on a perfectly sunny day. They don't know why. They told me if they had their Gamewell system in, they would have had a backup.

Where was the notification to the people of Emmaus to tell them what to do in case of emergency?

Also, I am big on sirens. We are living in a world where many things are happening, not just bad storms. We could have a terrorist attack. How do we notify people quickly, especially if all lines are down as we just experienced with these recent storms.

The sirens notify the fire department personnel there is a problem.

Every Saturday of the month, we sounded the alarms as a "civil defense test;" it would blow every alert signal or a take cover signal to signify to the residents something was going on.

The Emmaus Fire Department has a very sophisticated fire siren system which can even be altered to signal a specific street. The department tested the system once a month and some residents complained to the mayor about the sirens going off.

We are living in a time now where these safeguards must be in place to maintain the safety of the residents. You must stand up and ask what safeguards are in place to maintain that safety.

Jeffrey Tapler

Dillingersville-Lower Milford Township