The Right Software Saves Firefighters’ Lives

The Right Software Saves Firefighters’ Lives

Thursday, 08 September 2022 19:02

Being a firefighter means you have signed up to save lives. A significant portion of your career and life is dedicated to helping others through the most difficult times they will experience. 

They will call on you when they need you the most. You will be there for them when no one else can be. You will put your safety and health on the line to make sure they have the best chance of survival. 

Who protects the firefighters? Who is there to make sure they have the best chance of making it back to the firehouse after each call? Captains and leaders bear the responsibility of making sure their team has access to everything they need to serve their communities and return home to their families after each shift. 

One of the key tools that can help improve your firefighters’ chances of survival is the right software. Software that works raises situational awareness and saves lives. We’re talking about how firefighters can benefit from great technology. 

 

Fire Is More Common Than Most People Probably Realize

You know better than most in your community that fire is an ever-present danger in every town. We’ve written more about fire statistics in a previous article:

  • There are over 350,000 structural fires in homes every year in the United States.
  • Structural fire does as much as $25 billion in damage in the United States each year. $7 billion of those damages are to homes. 
  • 3,500 people die each year in structural fires. Over 2,600 of those deaths are in homes. 
  • Almost half of all home fires are a result of cooking accidents. 
  • Over 40% of home fire injuries are a result of cooking accidents. 

What does that have to do with having access to the right software? The more you can know about each structure and communicate that information across your department, the better the chances of your firefighters returning safely from every call. 

Raising Situational Awareness

The goal of good mobile apparatus software is to raise situational awareness. A decent mobile device's software should increase situational awareness. Everybody engaged faces risk while responding to emergencies. Increased situational awareness both increases responder safety and saves lives. However, some systems are difficult to use or designed with other users in mind.

What’s Wrong with Some Mobile Apparatus Software

Often mobile data terminal solutions were created with the intention of responding to police crises. Your mobile software could leave you wanting if it doesn't take into consideration the unique requirements of fire departments and EMS, such as preplans, occupancy risks, the availability of fire hydrants, command, and control features, and integrated vehicle tracking.

Furthermore, systems that require mounting heavy, slow laptops in trucks that rely on spotty network coverage to operate often make users feel like they would be better served to use hard copies and heavy binders. What your station needs is software designed by and for firefighters. 

How StreetWise® CADlink Works

The safety of your firefighters and paramedics is put at risk when data is wrong or outdated. Every responder, commander, and dispatcher will have better situational awareness with the appropriate software. The information must be sent to the right people, including dispatchers and first responders, as soon as possible.

At StreetWise®, we have developed an entire suite of full-featured products to help raise situational awareness for Fire and EMS. These products take you from incident pre-planning to the firehouse and dispatch, to the scene of the emergency, and back again. 

For departments that are serious about making the most of tablet computers or replacing bulky, pricey laptops, StreetWise CADlink is a system that raises situational awareness that can save lives. Use it as a stand-alone MDT, partner it with your records management software to create your NFIRS report, or even share AVL and status buttons back to several CAD systems using our accessible bi-directional connections.

To ensure that all responding units are truly on the same team, StreetWise's regional options enable you to easily communicate AVL, hydrant locations, preplans, and more with your mutual and auto-aid partners.

You are more aware than most people that fractions of a second can be the difference between life and death in an emergency. With the help of our mobile software for fire equipment, tablets can take the place of clumsy, sluggish computers. 

I cannot express to you how much easier it is for our folks to deliver a faster, more efficient, and safer service to our customers by using your product.” - Captain Jeffrey Wainwright, Spokane, WA.

When every person has the same data at their fingertips, it is much easier to communicate. Effective lines of communication give firefighters in the field a better picture of the situation and the information they need to save lives and stay safe. Our users find our system provides the comprehensive data they need in a user-friendly platform that requires just a little training to master. 

If you are interested in learning more about how the right software can help protect and save the lives of your firefighter, we are here to answer your questions. StreetWise was designed by firefighters for firefighters, so please reach out for more information or to schedule a demonstration of our system.