Speaking the Language of Safety

Emergency personnel find it increasingly necessary to communicate in the Spanish language

ANDERSON, IN – July 23rd, 2006 – In a life and death situation, are you prepared to deal with the fastest growing segment of the American population? New company Spanish 4 Emergencies has arrived on the scene to save the day!

Spanish 4 Emergencies is a company dedicated to providing new on-duty tools and teaching/learning products to help police, fire/EMS, dispatchers and other emergency personnel effectively communicate with the Spanish speaking American population.

The US Census Bureau advises that there are approximately 40 million people of Hispanic origin currently living in the United States. This number is expected to balloon to 102.6 million by 2050. At that time Hispanics will constitute 24% of the nation’s total population. People of Hispanic origin are already the largest ethnic minority in the United States, currently making up 13.7% of the total American population.

“All officers will soon be, or more likely already are, dealing with Spanish speaking subjects on a regular basis in the line of duty. It is an enormous safety issue to not properly prepare yourself for these situations,” says Spanish 4 Emergencies founder Brady Lewis.

Having a background in computers, Lewis started out by putting together a CD-Rom to introduce important terms and phrases for emergency workers, along with a detailed basic Spanish section to teach the ins and outs of the language. Since then Spanish 4 Emergencies has increased its catalog to include Quick Reference Card Books and Picture Books for on-duty incidents. All of the products were designed to not require any prior knowledge of the Spanish language, but are also great tools for someone who does know Spanish.

The Spanish 4 Emergencies CD-Rom Full Version, which includes the Basic Spanish, Law Enforcement, Fire, Paramedics and Dispatch sections carries a small price tag of $35.99. Also available is a Police Version, as well as a Fire/EMS Version CD-Rom which are $24.99 each.

The Quick Reference Card Books are compact and perfect for on the spot Spanish. They are comprised of six pages, approximately the size of business cards, and contain pertinent terms and phrases dealing with on-duty incidents. These books are weatherproof and comfortably fit in a uniform shirt pocket. The Quick Reference Card Books require a small investment of $12.99 each, and are available for Police, Fire/EMS and Dispatch.

The Spanish 4 Emergencies Picture Book was developed with a simple principle in mind: almost everyone understands and can point to pictures. The Picture Book is made up of 5 different categories, with several types of images for each one (i.e. the Weapons page has pictures of a pistol, a shotgun, a knife, etc). This allows personnel to communicate visually with someone when verbal communication is not an option. The Picture Book is available for only $16.99.

Brady Lewis, 24, is a 4-year reserve police officer and a 3-year emergency dispatcher in his hometown of Anderson, Indiana. “I decided I needed to learn some emergency Spanish for my own safety, as well as the safety of the subjects with whom I was coming into contact,” Lewis says. Upon searching for information and products aimed at emergency personnel, Lewis was surprised to find very little that proved to be helpful. Determined that this was a substantial problem that needed to be addressed, Lewis decided to address the problem on his own. He has since employed his wife Angel to help him in starting Spanish 4 Emergencies.