Charlotte has long been one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. Residents can point to many advantages of living in the Queen City and surrounding areas, such as high-quality schools, excellent healthcare, amazing restaurants, and a strong economy. 

It is not just the city itself but the many surrounding towns that make the area special. Towns like Davidson and Matthews have their own thriving economies, great schools and healthcare, and plenty of amenities. From outdoor activities to fantastic restaurants, you will find everything you need to live a good life here in our area. 

When it comes to celebrating the holidays, the Charlotte area is serious about spreading peace, joy, and cheer. You will see beautiful displays of decorations and lights, meet friendly neighbors, and receive invitations to numerous holiday gatherings from Thanksgiving through Christmas. 

Firefighters and paramedics in our area know that the season is not without its dangers. From the potential for fires caused by decorations to the increased traffic on already crowded roadways, first responders are busy this time of year. 

Here is how StreetWise® can help firefighters and paramedics during the holiday firefighting season. 

What Charlotte Area Firefighters Face During the Holidays

Some of the dangers people face during the holidays include:

• Christmas Trees: Firefighters respond to about 160 Christmas tree fires every year. One of the common causes of Christmas tree fires is the trees being placed too close to heat sources. 
• Christmas Decorations: Firefighters responded to an average of 770 structural fires caused by holiday decorations. During a season that should be linked with joy and peace, fires caused by decorations can be devastating to families.
• Christmas Candles: According to the NFPA, candles are responsible for half of all Christmas decoration fires. While candles help to create a peaceful and quiet ambiance at holiday gatherings, we all know how dangerous it can be to have an open flame too close to holiday decorations.
• Christmas and Thanksgiving Dinners: For Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings, there is a lot of food to be done. Cooking, unfortunately, is the cause of a number of structure fires, especially at this time of year.
• Christmas and Thanksgiving Travel: The holidays are among the busiest times of the year to travel. The result, unfortunately, is an increase in injuries and fatalities. 

How StreetWise® Helps Fire and EMS Departments in Charlotte, Davidson, Matthews, and Beyond

Many departments may be wondering if there is anything they can do to improve their ability to respond to calls during the holidays. StreetWise® is a full-featured software suite built exclusively for Fire & EMS. You no longer need to rely on cumbersome laptops or systems meant for police departments with our complete software and mobile tablet.

A few of the key features include:

• With directional apparatus icons, you can trace the location of your unit in real-time.
• Tactical waypoints based on NIMS are instantly synced to all units.
• Distance and radius measuring tools with multiple points
• Device-to-device communication
• Geo-tagged photo sharing in real-time
• For accreditation analytics, incident benchmark status is constantly recorded

If you are ready to take steps to improve your department’s ability to respond to calls during the holidays and beyond, you need to contact the team at StreetWise.