The Watch Duty App: Trusted Fire-tracking Solution during Wildfires
The fire-tracking Watch Duty app gains traction amongst Los Angeles residents, notably amidst the current wildfires. The app relies on informed networks for accurate and real-time wildfire updates.
The Network Powering Watch Duty
Watch Duty’s framework leverages both active and retired firefighters, first responders, and official government reports. Additionally, the app uses volunteer reporters who diligently keep track of radio scanners for the latest updates. With this robust system, it climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store charts during this week’s fires, outperforming official alerts.
The Impact: User Download and Trust
In an interview with The New York Times, Watch Duty’s CEO, John Mills, remarked on the overwhelming acceptance of the app. It experienced 2 million downloads since Tuesday, with a weekly unique user count of 14 million.
The Organization Behind Watch Duty
Watch Duty, a nonprofit organization driven primarily by donations, has grown to include 15 full-time and 200 part-time employees. CEO Mills assured that minimal personal data is collected by the app, eliminating any plans to commercialize it. Mills states, “I owe it to my community to not be a disaster capitalist.” The focus remains on providing a trusted fire-tracking solution during wildfires.
Original source: Read the full article on TechCrunch
