Everyone has heard the expression, “knowledge is power”. This is a great sentiment, but what is even more powerful is having instant access to the information you need, when you need it, in an easy to interpret format. 

In the fire service, having up-to-date pre-fire plans and reference documents is critical to support response, training and ISO ratings. By knowing the layout and construction of a building, including the locations of fire protection systems, stairwells, emergency exits, etc. first responders can provide optimal protection for occupants and property while enhancing the performance and safety of responding personnel.

Over the last several months we've been inundated by news of major emergencies around our country and beyond. Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey have been the most prominent progeny of the Atlantic hurricane assembly line and they left total disaster in their wake. Regrettably, many large-scale emergency situations are not the results of natural events but are created by the actions of people. Over and over again, we see tragedies unfold in small towns and large cities alike with the continuing epidemic of active shooter incidents.

I love the variety of experiences I have every day as a firefighter. The constant stimulus suits my ADHD personality. On any given day, I could be involved ina house fire, a rope rescue, a wildfire, a terrorist attack (God forbid), or a major earthquake. We train for all of it—in fact, training is the one constant—and there’s instant gratification and constant motion all the time. Hurray dopamine!

Starting a business provides some of the same types of stimulus. It’s an adventure into

If you’ve been thinking of deploying incident management software in your department, here are six key questions you need to consider before making the leap:

1. Is it mobile? 

Having the ability to track an incident from the very first seconds of dispatch from ALL of your devices is key to faster response times and higher situational awareness not just for the IC but for everyone in the department.

2. Does it automate my existing processes?

Some incidents are just worse than others.

When a high-speed train leaves the rails or a tornado rips the roof off the school gym, first responders face the confusion of a complicated incident scene. How many dead? Who is alive? Which of the living needs our help first?

Incidents like these require a different sort of response.

Sometimes a picture is worth much more than a thousand words. Especially when those words are taking up valuable radio bandwidth.

It continues to be VERY busy at work these days. I responded to 7 legitimate working fires for the month of May. And three of those have been two alarm fires. It’s been a really crazy run!

Two things happened last week in my life as a Fire Captain that simply could not have happened a generation ago.