WHILE it may seem fanciful that Palmwoods could be seen and heard across the nation, local resident Jim Cushing finds it is the perfect base for his business which is revolutionising emergency vehicles.

Jim, who hails from Alabama, is marketing the emergency sirens and lights for his cousin Basil Wheeler, a former NASA engineer who worked on the Moon Car, before moving into his own manufacturing business.

Jim is now introducing Australian emergency services to the system invented by his cousin.

His sirens have been designed to amplify the sound away from the emergency vehicle to minimise disturbance to the patient inside while maximising its range. The emergency lighting promotes white as a more easily noticed colour, as opposed to the usual red and blue.

"We aim to be seen and heard," Jim said. "White is much more visible as a light and the sirens make it easier for those inside an ambulance."

He said ambulances often had to travel more slowly and avoid using their siren depending on the condition of the patient inside. The new siren changes all that.

Jim's light and siren systems are already being used on ambulances around Queensland and New South Wales, and he plans on marketing it nationally.

"Now that we have got ambulances using the sirens, by next month we will go after the fire fighters," he said.

He said different systems were used for fire engines and ambulance vehicles.

"Ambulances are a faster moving vehicle so you need the noise pushed forward," he said. "In fire trucks, which are slower, you need the noise pushed outwards."

Jim said he had had to convince emergency services that white was the most effective colour for emergency lights.

"Red and blue have been the standard, but once people see a demonstration of white lights they can see they catch the eye," he said.

Jim and his Australian wife Lyndell moved to Palmwoods 16 months ago and he finds it just like home.

"In the U.S. I lived in a small country town called Haskell, which is just outside President Clinton country at Little Rock, and Palmwoods is very similar to it," he said.

Jim has also been quick to become involved in various community organisations, including Riding for the Disabled and the Palmwoods Progress Association where he has recently been elected vice-president.

A keen craftsman, he has been busy making donation tins in the shape of horses for the RDA. Lyndell will now add the finishing touches. He also loves country music and sings and plays a little guitar himself.

But the biggest noise Jim is making is with his sirens.

"I want emergency vehicles to be seen and heard, because one day I might need one myself," he said.