Popsicles are melting in terror, iced tea is being consumed by the barrel and the air conditioners are huffing heavily with overtime. It’s about that season: scorching Florida summer heat is striking mercilessly all around us. Naturally, we’re starting to shift our glistening eyes to pools, ponds, lakes, beaches and basically any soothing body of water that can offer us relief. It might even entail a less glamorous soak in the tub. Whatever your particular fancy may be, it’s important to remember that there is always a risk for danger, especially when you have little ones around the house. But what can you do to help prevent... [Read more]

Summer brings a lot of lovely things. It provides an excuse to go to the beach, take some time off and catch some rays. It’s a beautiful thing; a staple in the Floridian experience. But along with it comes another Floridian tradition - hurricane season. It wasn’t too long ago that Charley, Ivan and Jeanne left their devastating marks on the area. And just a little farther back in time is our old friend Andrew, who in his day, was the biggest, baddest hurricane Florida had ever seen. With hurricane season rapidly approaching yet again, the Orange County Office of Emergency Management stands at the ready with a plan and the experience... [Read more]

Technology, specifically the internet and social media, have helped local police forces become more proactive in an effort to help reduce the local crime rate. The FBI reported in the Preliminary Semi-annual Uniform Crime Report in January through June 2010, that “as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation reported a decrease of 6.2 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention in the first six months when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2009.” But what about in our backyard specifically and what are our local agencies doing about it moving toward the future? The Orange County... [Read more]

Make room, ladies and gentlemen - there’s a new Sherriff’s Office in town. After being in the works since the mid-nineties, the Lake Underhill substation opened in late February to help better serve the growing East Orlando population. According to Lee Massie, Orange County Sheriff’s Office captain of Sector 2, East Orlando is the largest of the 6 sectors within Orange County and answers the most calls annually. Sector 2 currently has about 165 deputies assigned to answer calls for service, patrol areas and keep the community safe. In the works since the mid-1990’s, the recently opened Lake Underhill substation is one of only... [Read more]

Hurricanes. Floods. Earthquakes. Tornados. Whatever the disaster, they all have one thing in common: to save lives and put the pieces back together, it takes an elite team of disaster management professionals to respond quickly with a strong plan of action. In the past, training these unsung heroes was costly, sometimes even inefficient - but not anymore, thanks to one Orlando-based simulation company, who was just chosen by FEMA to deliver innovative training and assessment tools beginning later this year. Emergency management personnel can train on the EMST system from any computer in the world with an internet connection individually or in... [Read more]