REACT County Victoria and St. Patrick Team 6006 is pleased to introduce the first part of our new REACT 6006 Directory, a growing public information service designed to make useful and verified resources easier to find.
The first directory now available is our Emergency Resources Directory, bringing together important emergency and public-service contacts from across Trinidad and Tobago in one searchable location.
Rather than maintaining another simple list of telephone numbers, the directory has been designed as a structured and maintainable information resource.
Visitors can search and browse resources including:
- Police and crime-reporting services
- Fire and emergency response
- Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services
- Hospitals
- Health centres and clinics
- Disaster management agencies
- Utilities
- Shelters
- Coast Guard and maritime services
- NGOs and relief organizations
- Other important public resources
Each listing can contain more than just a telephone number. Where available, directory records can include contact information, service descriptions, locations, operating information, source information and verification details.
Information that can be checked
One of the priorities behind the directory is information quality.
Public-service contact information changes. Telephone numbers are updated, websites move, organizations change operating arrangements and old information can remain online for years after it becomes unreliable.
For that reason, the REACT 6006 directory supports information such as:
Source — where the information was obtained.
Last verified — when the information was last checked.
Verification status — whether the information remains current according to our latest review.
Operational status — where sufficient information is available to determine the current status of a resource.
This does not mean REACT controls or operates the organizations contained in the directory. It means that we are trying to make the information we publish traceable and maintainable rather than simply copying telephone numbers from around the Internet.
Not a replacement for emergency services
The directory is an information resource, not an emergency dispatch service.
If someone is experiencing an immediate or life-threatening emergency, they should contact the appropriate official emergency service directly.
REACT Team 6006 does not dispatch Police, Fire, Ambulance or other statutory emergency services, and reports submitted through REACT systems should never be used as a substitute for contacting the appropriate authorities.
The purpose of the directory is much simpler:
help people find the right official resource more easily.
Part of a larger platform
The Emergency Resources Directory is only the first use of the directory system.
We are developing the platform so that additional public directories can be introduced over time without creating disconnected lists scattered throughout the website.
Future directories may include areas such as:
REACT organizations and teams
Helping people find REACT groups and appropriate points of contact.
Affiliates and partner organizations
Organizations working with or supporting REACT Team 6006.
Community resources
Useful organizations and services available to communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago.
Training and preparedness resources
Organizations, facilities and programmes relevant to preparedness, communications and volunteer development.
Public-service organizations
Useful government, nonprofit and community services that may not necessarily fall under emergency response.
This also gives us the ability to introduce new directory features as the platform develops.
Where we are heading
Because directory records are structured information rather than static webpage content, there are several possibilities for future development.
These may include improved geographic searching, map integration, opening hours, service areas, contact verification workflows, accessibility information, better filtering and eventually integration with the REACT 6006 Situational Awareness platform.
For example, someone viewing an incident or hazard on the situational-awareness map could eventually be shown relevant public-service resources for that location.
That is the broader idea behind much of the technology being developed by Team 6006: not technology for its own sake, but making useful information easier to find, understand and communicate.
A resource that should improve over time
The Emergency Resources Directory is now available, but we do not consider it “finished.”
Directories like this become useful through continued maintenance.
We will continue adding resources, improving existing listings, verifying information and developing new functionality as the platform grows.
If you notice incorrect or outdated information, we encourage you to contact Team 6006 so that it can be reviewed.
Explore the Emergency Resources Directory and watch this space as the wider REACT 6006 Directory continues to grow.